The Path We Choose

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There, there baby

It's just textbook stuff

It's in the ABC's of growing up

---Speeding Cars

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Arc One: Goodbyes

Chapter 2: Growing up

Sakura awoke a tangled mess in the blankets. She was continually having nightmares and found herself tossing and turning in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Slowly rolling off the bed with a grunt, she put her purple fuzzy slippers on and tied her hair up into a messy bun.

Her steps were slow and steady as she walked into the bathroom with her eyes barely open to lead her to there. Popping off the cap of the toothpaste, she began brushing her teeth and poking at her face, inspecting herself in the mirror.

The bags under her eyes were dark and heavy, making it look as if she was already wearing eyeliner. Her eyes were bloodshot, and slightly puffy from all the crying she had done last night.

She spit out the toothpaste and began combing her short pink hair. It had grown longer since the cuuchin exam, but was nowhere as long as it had once been. She ran her fingers through her hair and examined it in the mirror.

Pink is such an unusual color. At first I loved it because it made me feel special, but now...it is just a nauseating color. When I leave with Sasuke it will be so easy to spot me. It will be hard blending in with the crowd. If Tsunade sends ANBU after me I am definitely going to be found, and Sasuke will be so mad at me. He probably will regret taking me, or just kill me on the spot.

She tugged at her hair again, wondering what to do about it. Putting her comb down, she decided to figure that out later. She washed her face, and pulled up her pajamas to see the bruise Sasuke had given her when he punched her in the stomach.

What had started out as a small black and blue was now a huge bruise that covered almost all of her stomach. She touched it lightly and winced that the pain that shot all the way down to her legs. It was painful to walk, and almost unbearable trying to sit down. There was nothing Sakura could do but wait for it to heal itself.

The bruise was a reminder of how much she hated the situation she was in. She had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and said things that she didn't know she could live up to. As much as she loved Sasuke, she didn't want to leave Konoha behind. The thought of becoming a traitor to the village made her tremble in fear.

I have to be strong…for Sasuke.

Sakura could hear a light tapping on her bathroom door, and as a reflex she put her shirt back on even though she knew the door was locked.

"Who is it? Can't you see I'm using the bathroom?" She snapped irritably.

"Sakura? It's your mother. I'm sorry that I am bothering you, but we really need milk. Can you run to the store and buy some after you are done?"

Sakura sighed and unlocked the door. She opened it slightly so she could fit her head through, "Whatever." Her mother thanked her, but Sakura never heard the thanks because she slammed the door in her face. She didn't know why, but she was in a bad mood. She felt impatient and just wanted to scream at the first person who talked to her. Sakura could hear he mother's footsteps down the stairs and couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret at her reaction. She pushed that thought aside.

Walking back to her room, Sakura quickly put on a loose black shirt and a pair of tight black shorts. She went down the stairs as slowly as she could; wincing at every step she had to take. Grabbing the money on the counter, she left the house shutting the door behind her. Not bothering to say hello or good-bye to her parents.

She wasn't in a very happy mood, and the fact that she had to run an errand right when she wakes up didn't make her any happier. It was this unhappy mood that made her decide to take the long route to the grocery store. The fresh air and beautiful scenery was bound to make her mood a little lighter. She really was in no rush to get home, regardless of her parents need for milk.

Sakura looked at the road ahead of her. This is the path Sasuke, Naruto and I used to take on our way to the Ichiraku.

Memories flooded her mind, and she could have sworn she heard the voices of a younger Naruto laughing loudly, followed by a younger version of herself hitting and chastising him. Before she knew it she felt as if she was being transported back in time. She saw a younger Naruto screaming at everyone to hurry up, and continue running further ahead of them. A younger Sakura getting mad at them for not waiting; and a younger Sasuke slowly dragging along with a sour look on his face.

I remember now…I was always the one pushing Sasuke along…Always the one telling Naruto to wait up.

Naruto was always the one who couldn't wait for the future to happen. He was always running towards it, and leaving everyone else who tried to keep up with him in the dust.

Sasuke on the other hand was the entire opposite. He was always trailing behind them. He tried clinging to the past for as long as he could, and was always fighting the future.

And Sakura?

She was the one in the middle.

Never catching up to either of them.

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"Wait up Naruto! Sasuke and I are so far behind you; can't you wait just a few seconds?" Sakura yelled at the childish young boy bouncing a mile ahead of them.

"C'mon you guys, I can hear the ramen calling me. There is a bowl there and it has my name on it." Naruto waved at his teammates behind him. He paused to wait for them for a few seconds, but soon his impatience got the best of him.

"I'll meet you guys at the Ichiraku."

He continued running ahead of them despite Sakura's protests for him to wait. Her hopes of them spending some team bonding were basically down the drain. She looked at Sasuke, who was trailing a few steps behind her. As usual he was always the one taking his time in life, as if he didn't want the future to come. His eyes were to the side, looking at everything around him, except for what was in front of him.

Grabbing his sleeve, Sakura began to pull him to go a little faster. "Sasuke, we have to catch up to Naruto. I really want us three to walk together." Unfortunately Sasuke was not in the mood to be told what to do. He shoved her lightly, causing her to loose grip of his sleeve.

"Don't touch me."

Sakura was shocked at first and could only nod dumbly as he walked ahead of her. She finally got grip of reality and caught up to him, and walked beside him silently.

"I guess it is nice that Sasuke and I get to have some alone time. Even if he is kind of mad at me, and he probably won't talk to me," She thought to her self as she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

Sasuke and Sakura traveled in silence for a while on their way to the Ichiraku. To keep her mind off of the awkward silence she kept her thoughts busy by listening to the sounds of nature and admiring the view around her.

Subconsciously she hoped that Sasuke would hold her hand as they walked together. She found herself walking a little closer to him; making sure her hand looked "hold-able" by making it limp by her side, letting it brush against his once in a while.

"Go ahead of me," he said out of the blue, "I want to be by myself, and you shouldn't keep Naruto waiting."

"Really Sasuke, I don't mind at all walking with you."

"Are you deaf? I said go."

Sakura knew there was nothing she could say to continue walking with him. He would only get more upset if she insisted walking with him. Once he made up his mind it was either listen to him or he made you listen to him.

She said bye to him, and paused for a second silently hoping that he would tell he has just joking. What a false hope. She began to run ahead of him, only looking back once to see him staring off to the side again.

It had hurt that Sasuke didn't want to walk alone with her. She could feel tears sliding down her cheek, and she used her hand to wipe them off immediately. Every tear that feel reminded her how weak she was. Not only physically but emotionally.

She stopped running and sat on a big rock on the side of the road. The Ichiraku was already in view. Calming her breath down, she took deep breaths and mentally told herself to calm down. She looked at the Ichiraku. It was only ten feet away, and she could hear Naruto already yelling at Teuchi to hurry up with the next bowl. Laughing without a care in the world.

As much as she mentally tried to calm down the tears were continually falling. Getting up off the rock she made a turn away from the ramen bar and towards her house. She couldn't go inside or else Naruto would see her tears, knowing full well that it was most likely Sasuke's fault.

She didn't want Naruto to see her in a weak state, and she didn't want him to be mad at Sasuke. It wasn't his fault she was so useless. She knew Sasuke wasn't going to go to the Ichiraku, and felt bad that Naruto would be alone there, forever waiting for his teammates to arrive.

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Sakura opened the door to the grocery store. She could hear the tinkling of the bell above her head as she opened the door. The heat inside was almost unbearable. There was nobody inside except for the man behind the cash register who was so engulfed on the television in front of him he didn't notice her come in.

Picking up a shopping basket in the front, she walked to the back to pick up the milk she came to get. She shivered as she opened the giant refrigerator, and grabbed a carton of one percent whole milk.

Not really in the mood to go home yet, Sakura absentmindedly walked the aisles. Her mother had given her forty dollars to buy the milk, and told her that she could use the leftover money to buy whatever she wanted.

Knowing that she wasn't going to waste her money buying food, she soon found herself in the beauty products aisle. For a while Sakura had been thinking about doing something drastic with her appearance. Something like piercing her ears, getting a tattoo, or cutting her hair. She wanted to start her life with Sasuke with a different look.

Picking up a pair of green dangling earrings, Sakura put them next to her ears and looked at her image in the mirror. The green really brought out her emerald eyes, and she was sure Sasuke would notice something like this. She checked the price and could feel her eyes bulge out as she realized at how expensive the price was.

She put it back in the shelf and continued down the aisle when something caught her eye. There was a row of hair care products, and a box that was labeled "hair dye" caused Sakura to come up with a daring idea. She picked up a box and began carefully inspecting it.

I guess this would be a great way to get rid of my pink hair problem, and I am pretty sure if I dye my hair a more neutral color I would definitely look more like an average citizen. Didn't Sasuke say he liked brunettes?

"Well if it isn't my most favorite person in the world! Hey Sakura-chan!"

In shock, Sakura immediately hid the box behind her back and turned to see who had called her name. She sighed in relief as she turned to see Naruto with a basket under his arm and a goofy grin plastered on his face. He wouldn't be able to put two and two together. He was too stupid.

"N-Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Looking at his basket, she knew it really was a stupid question to ask. "My grumbling tummy woke me up at this ungodly hour, and when I opened my cabinet there was no food left. So I came to the store to stock up on some ramen when I happened to run into you. What brings you here at this hour?"

"Well… um…," she said slowly trying to buy enough time until she could come up with a good excuse, "we ran out of milk at my house and my mother sent me out to get some."

"In the beauty products aisle?"

"No you idiot. I already have the milk," Sakura said showing him her basket, "I was just um-

She picked up the pair of earrings that she had been looking at and showed them to Naruto, "I was just admiring these earrings, but it is way out of my price range. So yeah…" In an attempt to bring the attention off of the earrings she threw them off to the side, letting it hit a basket before finally touching the ground.

They both stood there in silence, having nothing to really say to each other. Naruto could see that Sakura was getting fidgety and he knew she wanted to leave.

"I forgot to tell you. I was wondering if you wanted to meet me at the Iciraku for lunch again tomorrow," He saw her unsure expression and he flailed his arms in the air in an attempt to get rid of any misconceptions, "Now before you say no, I am not asking you out on a date again. There are other people coming. Let's see…Hinata, Ten Ten, Lee, Neji, Ino, and Shikamaru. I know you had ramen last night and you probably will be sick of it for the next week, but I really hope you come. I really want you to come."

"Pleeeeease," he added in a whiny voice.

"Hm? Oh yeah. Whatever," Sakura pretended to gaze at a watch on her wrist, "Oh would you look at the time, I have to go. My mom is probably dying without that milk. You know how she gets when she doesn't get her daily dose of Vitamin D, and it is pretty hot in here. Don't want it to spoil"

Before Naruto could protest, Sakura was already at the cash register paying for her items. The hair dye snuggly concealed under the milk. She impatiently tapped her foot as the obviously underpaid cashier slowly rang up her items, looking at her quizzically when it came to the hair dye.

"It's for my mother," she said, wondering why she was explaining herself to him. What did she care? "Her hair is going gray and you people don't have any pink hair dye. I might complain to your superiors."

The cashier just watched her talk to herself. Or her conscience.

"32.50" he said dully. Sakura paid him and told him to keep the change if he kept his mouth shut.

"Bye Naruto" Sakura said behind her as she quickly left the store, leaving a very confused boy behind. Naruto scratched his head and couldn't help but replay what had just happened. He just went up to say hi to her and she tries to leave as soon as possible.

Maybe it was hopeless.

He kicked the air in frustration and mentally kicked himself for acting like a bumbling idiot in front of Sakura. He would never understand what went on in that girls mind.

Walking down the aisle he went to pick up the earring Sakura abruptly dropped on the floor when she left.

I bet Sakura-chan would love it if I bought these for her as a surprise.

He grinned at the thought of Sakura pulling him into a deep hug and thanking him for the beautiful gift…with a kiss. He laughed lightly with his cheeks tinted a slight pink, and eagerly flipped the earrings over to see the price in the back.

Forty Dollars.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small wad of money. He flipped through each bill, silently counting how much money he had. He sighed as he found out he was twenty bucks short and only had enough money to buy his food.

I really wish I had a job.

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Sakura entered the house and gave the milk carton at her mom. "Thank you, honey." Her mother said, not mentioning the fact she was two hours late.

She took a seat at the table, and her mother placed a plate of pancakes in front of her. She looked at the pancake and it smiled at her. How typical of her mother to make smiley face pancakes. The eyes were made of chocolate chips, and smile was strawberry slices, finished with the whipped cream hair.

Sakura cut a slice of pancake between the eyes and took a bite.

"I see you already spent the money I gave you already. It's in the bloodline, y'know. We are reckless spenders," Her mother laughed at her own joke, "So…what's in the bag?" Sakura's mother playfully tugged at the white plastic bag Sakura had placed on her lap. Sakura roughly pulled the bag away from her mother's grasp.

Her mother's arm recoiled in shock at her daughter's sudden reaction. "Can't you just keep your nose out my business for once?" She snapped.

Her mother was frozen still and it took her a while to compose herself. It had been the first time Sakura snapped at her. Sakura was never the type to yell at her parents. When her mother regained composure, she pretended the incident never happened and continued washing the dishes.

No one spoke and all that could be heard was the sound of the water flowing along the dishes. Sakura knew she was in the wrong and she had to apologize. Her mother was just innocently trying to see what she had gotten.

"I'm sorry mom. I was just stressed about all the missions Kakashi keeps sending us on. It can get to you sometimes. I just bought a box of tampons," She said jiggling the bag. It made the sound of an item hitting cardboard, "you know how embarrassed I get when I have to tell you stuff like that."

Her mother's mood lighted a little at her apology, "I'm sorry also. I am always forgetting how much you are growing. It is hard to think you still aren't my little two year old girl who used to poop in her pants. You do deserve your privacy. I will try to be more understanding."

"Mom…"

Her mother's apology had been bittersweet to Sakura. Her mother was giving her the freedom that came with age, and the more she got the more she wished she was a child again. Growing up meant choices. Growing up meant paths to take. Growing up meant leaving behind all your childish things.

Betrayal

Love

Pain

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A small tap could be heard from the front door. Tsunade's eyes slowly opened, and she mentally cursed the person who was waking her up at this hour. She closed her eyes again, praying the person would give up and leave, but the knocks were starting to get louder as each second passed by. Tsunade groggily picked up her head from the book she had been reading. She had an important surgery the next day and she was reading up on past surgeries to make sure she was going to do it right.

Her late night studying had taken a toll on her and she had accidentally fallen asleep on top of the book, causing the characters to rub onto her face. She wiped the drool that had dripped onto her face and told the person to come inside.

"Ah, Kakashi, what a surprise to see you here! Come to have a rematch," she smirked as she recalled the poker game in which Kakashi ended up loosing not only a fair amount of money, but also his clothing.

Kakashi stepped inside and walked a few steps closer to her. His face was grave as opposed to the light hearted smirk and book he would always have when he stepped into her office. Tsunade noticed his serious expression and immediately put away her playful remarks. She sat up in her chair, and said in a business-like tone

"Take a seat Kakashi. Is there anything I could get you?"

"No," he looked at the seat and decided not to sit down.

She offered him a glass of water and again he declined, "Now what is it you had to tell me?"

Kakashi went straight to the point, "Sasuke left Konoha."

Tsunade was shocked at the news. She leaned back onto the chair and began massaging her temples, "What?"

"I have a feeling Sasuke left Konoha to follow Orochimaru last night. This morning I had passed by his house to get a follow up on his training, and I couldn't find him. At first I thought he had just gone somewhere to be alone, and I didn't want to tell you until I was positive. He still hasn't returned, and nobody has seen him all day. "

Tsunade closed her eyes and tried to think of what to do in a situation like this. Kakashi wasn't sure if Sasuke had really left, and she didn't want to cause a stir until they were positive.

"Do you want me to send some ANBU after him?"

"I think that is the last thing we want to do right now. I want you to leave immediately and try to find him. If he has decided to follow Orochimaru he probably hasn't gone very far and there is a small chance you can bring him back."

"Should I tell Naruto and Sakura about this mission?"

"No. Nobody is to know of it. Telling Sakura and Naruto would just cause more unneeded stress. Sakura's heart would break if she knew Sasuke had left, and if Naruto went along he would most definitely fight Sasuke.

"I don't mean to think low of my student but I think Sakura knows more about Sasuke's disappearance than she lets on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Two guards told me that they had found a girl with pink hair unconscious on a park bench last night also. She looked very pale as if she had seen a ghost. Coincidentally, today Sakura seemed out of it and withdrawn from the group. Do you think she had seen Sasuke before he left?"

"Maybe, but I think it would be better not to confront her about it. We don't know what had happened that night. She could have asked him to stay and he left her heartbroken. We don't know how she would react if we brought it up."

"Hm." He nodded in agreement.

"We can only pray that whatever happened last night and whatever is going to happen these next few days…she makes the right choice." They both knew Sakura was somehow a large factor in what was happening. They just didn't know how.

Kakashi knew the conversation was over. He turned to leave.

"Kakashi?" she said.

"Hm?" He lazily said, not bothering to turn around.

"Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this." Kakashi continued out the door and left to start his mission.

Tsunade turned to concentrate on her reading again. Frustrated, Tsunade couldn't concentrate anymore after what she had just learned. She slammed the book shut, putting it off to the side. Getting up off of the chair, she walked toward the window and let the new information sink into her head while looking at the stars. The best part about her office was the view was amazing. You could see all of Konoha.

"These next few days are going to be very interesting. I'm going to have to restock on my sake."

TBC….


YAY! Chapter Deux! I am really happy with all the reviews I got, and it really means a lot to me. So yeah, I hope I haven't made any mistakes plot-wise. I'm not really an expert on the anime, so if there are any mistakes don't be afraid to point them out.

Oh yeah…. READ THE LYRICS!