Terms of Negotiation
Summary:
'Talent-less' and 'ordinary' Sakura Haruno –the supposed weakest member of Team 7- suddenly finds herself given an extraordinary gift/curse…. The Knowledge of the World. These new powers are both a blessing and a hindrance, with several side affects –blindness and physical frailty-.
Now, everyone who is anyone is at her door, wanting to know their futures, or some delectable bit of information.
This does not dis-include a certain red haired sand ninja.
Teaser:
"If I were to tell you what you wished to know Gaara, what would you give me in return?" She mused silkily, her sightless eyes continued to caress the blank parchment in front of her.
He grinned "… Isn't your life enough?" he replied.
She gave a short laugh and shook her head. "Now Gaara, the point of trade is to barter something of equal or –in my case- higher value… Besides, if I were to be reduced to nothing but a lifeless corpse… There would be no way for you to obtain the information you hunger for. Gaara… What is your offer to me? I'm listening" she answered sweetly.
'Clever woman… Very clever' he sighed internally.
"…What is it that you want?" Gaara finally stated.
Her sweet smile meant nothing good for him. "… I have something in mind actually" she admitted, standing from her place at the desk, she strolled across the room and stood before him.
Her milky jade eyes bore into his, and seemed to read his soul. "… Something interesting indeed" she concluded.
Short Author note:
((I am just so tired of fan-fiction that always makes Sakura out to be a helpless and lovesick girl with no talent as a Ninja. She's just so overshadowed by Naruto and Sasuke. TT. Besides… I'm a huge Gaara+Sakura shipper… Even if it isn't considered cannon))
Chapter One: The Kirin's Gift
"Useless" the word rolled darkly off her tongue as she remembered her pitch eyed team members biting remark.
She felt like she could die…
And she knew what Sasuke had said was true to a certain extent.
Out of team 7… Sakura was the weakest…
Granted… She had excellent Chakra control.
But what good would it do her if she had no skills to use that Chakra!
The dark and gloomy forest embraced her comfortingly –much more suiting than the noisy and bustling town-. She hated the looks the other ninja gave her as she passed them… They were looks of pity.
'Poor Haruno… Bright girl… But she just… Isn't strong' was a common comment.
It made her burn inside.
"I… I want to be strong. I'm trying" she murmured to herself brokenly, feeling a familiar well of acidity in her stomach.
She was going to cry again… God, she hated that!
Her hands found themselves rubbing her eyes stubbornly, wiping away the evidence of her hurt.
The further she traveled, the more absorbed in her thoughts she became.
Dark thoughts, memories that she tried to repress. Laughter and cutting glares in her direction. The whispers. The rejection. The shadows.
She was by no means a spot light hogging individual. She was quite content that both Naruto and Sasuke were well known for their obvious talents.
She just couldn't stand being looked down on.
Naruto had always been kind to her, even when she was being deadweight to the team. And Kakashi was ever patient….
But Sasuke… He was a different story.
It was hard for her to remember a day when she felt no traces of hurt and discouragement in his presence.
Needless to say her silly girl hood crush on the supposed 'Prince Charming' was shortly lived.
A girl could only handle so much humiliation she supposed.
There was a loud noise from the west; she jerked her head up from her thoughts, as a bit of anticipation and fear swam in her belly. '...Another person?... This late?' she thought to herself.
And sure enough...
Two males stumbled out from the foliage, they were late into their thirties, and wore travelers garb, a day's growth of beard, and the stench of strong alcohol.
They did not seem to take notice of her at first, as they laughed raucously at a joke amongst themselves. And she thought it better should she not get involved with the likes of them, from their demeanor and current behavior.
Wordlessly, she turned to slink away into the bushes, and make her way back home.
"Hey! Are you lost too?" came a male inquire as a hand grasped her shoulder. Unwillingly, she was turned to face him.
The looks on their intoxicated faces were closely akin to surprise, as his hand snaked its way into her Cherry blossom locks. "...Pink?" he murmured softly.
She pulled away with a bitter frown. " You two shouldn't be in these woods this late... It's dangerous" she answered emotionlessly.
But her words fell on deaf ears, as the two men had begun to argue amongst themselves again. "She looks like Megumi!" one spat, while the second shook his head.
"She's a bad omen, she very much resembles the girl that just died in the village" the other explained patiently.
Two shots of emotion, a chill of fear, and a bit of annoyance.
Without another word, she huffed and continued into the woods, listening to the evidence of intoxication fade behind her.
It wasn't long before she stopped altogether, night was falling, and she might as well settle down and camp for the remaining shadow hours.
She wasn't sure why she was traveling so intently this way, at first it had been a mere whim... But the longer she was here... The more she felt she should continue.
'I'm sure... That there is something waiting for me on the other side of these trees...' she mused to herself.
Perching herself comfortably in an oaks branches, she closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax.
Sakura then slept, her mind swimming with questions, and her heart lulled by the sound of bells.
In the morning she woke feeling oddly unfettered. Sasuke's words no longer bearing such a heavy burden.
With her resolve renewed, she thought of ways to better herself, ways to take the tarnish off of her decidedly good name.
"I don't have the luck of bloodline like Sasuke... Or the curse of a demon like Naruto... But I'm sure there is something worthy about me... I hope so at least" she sighed to herself.
Tsunde had started to train Sakura in her healing abilities, skills that neither of her teammates demonstrated themselves. Knowing that she possessed attributes that they did not made her feel a bit better.
"... I'd just like to be strong too.." she reminded herself drearily.
She came to a part where the wood line began to thin, canopies opening to the large clear sky above. The ground below her feet no longer consisted of the rich, fertile forest earth, but was rather crudely paved with worn stone.
Sakura's eyes of spring growth widened. Before her sat a temple, obviously abandoned, and covered in vines. Regardless, she felt embraced by a power she could not explain.
Though more cautiously than before, Sakura made her way towards it.
She wandered through the remains of a village, to the steps of the stone haven. As she climbed, she caught the faint and familiar sound of bells.
Once at the top, she ducked inside the temple, and allowed her eyes to adjust the the darkness within. It was large and lofty, with sparse furnishings, and large stained glass windows. Colors hit the ground like a kaleidoscope.
It was while she drank it in, that another sound graced her ears. It was so soft and hidden that she nearly dismissed it.
Crying.
And then… She felt another chill run up her spine.
For in the front of the temple, near an alter, knelt a figure that she should've noticed before…
Her feet carried her there of their own accord. And soon she stood looking down over a small child.
It did not take her long to figure out why the child was sobbing, in her hands she held a kitten, it looked fragile and broken, patches of fur covered in dried blood.
Barely alive…
Big salty tears ran down the girls face. "Y-Yuki… The dogs got to him… M-Mama said" she stuttered.
Gently she took the injured creature from the girl's small hands, and focused her chakra into its body.
The response was weak…
She was filled with indignant helplessness.
'What good is this healing if I can't even bring a kitten back from the dead!'
She scowled.
'It's because… Humans have no jurisdiction in the matters of the living and the dead…' noted a voice to her left.
She spun to face it, only to stare into empty space.
Then she said it… Something she later regretted with all her heart.
"Then… I wish that I wasn't human… So that I could decide who lived and who met death".
The response was stubborn, and full of emotion.
She just wanted… Wanted not to be afraid. Not to feel helpless, or weak.
Or mortal.
Then… Her body fell in on itself. Her head was full of burning, electric pain.
There was a cool hand on her forehead, and the same voice as earlier in both ears now.
"Do you want to be something different Haruno Sakura? Do you want to stop the insults and the pitying glances?... Do you want that power… The ability to play a hand in life and death?" it asked.
When she opened her eyes, sight was blurry… But she was just able to make out the little girls form shifting.
A woman… Pale as the moon.. With trailing ebony locks beaded and jeweled. Her robes were ornate and the colors of crimson and gold. She had an oddly otherworldly and adolescent look, and felt of immense power.
Behind her stood a large and snowy creature, with the likeness of a horse, though more ethereal and somehow more carnal. Its eyes were black, yet silvered over, almost as if it had cataracts. Its mane was ornate with jewels and beads, its hooves were inlaid with gold and silver. But the most impressive thing next to the creature's stature –as it stood several hands taller than Sakura- was the large, almost violent looking ivory, gold and ruby inlaid horn protruding from its head.
"Kirin…" she murmured, not recognizing the word as it fell from her lips.
But Kirin it most certainly was.
The woman smiled with her painted lips. " Haruno Sakura… I've decided…. That I have a gift for you" she said softly.
She pulled a necklace from her neck, and pressed a seal to Sakura's forehead, the burning and the electricity was washed away with a deep relieving cool. "…. Power was what you wished for Sakura… Power and the ability to mingle in life and death… Though you are still a precious mortal… I give the future to hold in your hands" she concluded.
Then… It was all silent, and Sakura saw nothing more of the world, and knew nothing more of insecurity.
Just the ringing of bells, the smell of rain, and the coursing of the Kirin's gift running through her blood.