Light Shaded Dream
Chapter 1 – Remembering
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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The autumn breezes gently filtered through the air, showering Konoha with leaves and buds. Many ninja wandered through the streets, buying food in the markets, staring at the Kyuubi vessel gulping down his ramen at Ichiraku, walking with friends, or merely just there. Nighttime fell over the peaceful village, and the breezes continued to gently serenade the village to serenity. A pink-haired kunoichi, Haruno Sakura, student of the Godaime Tsunade, wandered down the streets of her village, weary from her day's work of healing patients at the hospital. She dragged her tired feet through the streets, cursing her long-hour shift.
Why do I have the longest shift in the hospital!
Hmm, maybe because you're a talented medic nin that goes off with the top ANBU squads for missions?
Shut up.
Her conversation with her inner was interrupted when she heard the slurping of her former teammate, Naruto. She sighed in irritation, and walked over to him.
Slurp! Slurp!
"Naruto, do you have to be so loud with your ramen?" She asked.
Her teammate looked at her with his innocent blue eyes, and gave her a goofy grin, some of the ramen's soup dripping from his mouth. She sighed, and shook her head.
"What am I going to do with you, Naruto..." She silently asked herself.
"Lighten up, Sakura-chan! I hear you're going on a mission tomorrow with the ANBU. Dontcha think that'd be pretty fun?" He asked.
She tensed up as she heard Naruto speak of her mission to her, while she silently nodded and laughed at the right moments. My mission… She thought to herself.
"Eh, well, see you later, Sakura-chan!"
Naruto got up from his seat at Ichiraku, and began walking away, satisfied that he had gotten a chance to talk to Sakura. Sakura stared as her friend grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and she herself continued on her way home. She stopped momentarily to stare at the bare sakura trees, unable to hold back her flooding memories. Unable to control her legs, she moved towards a certain tree, a tree that, to her, held special and sorrowful memories. She sunk down and sat at its roots, closing her eyes, letting the autumn breeze gently move her...
Flashback
"Sasuke-kun! Let's go—"
"No. You're annoying."
The heartthrob of Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke, began to walk away from Sakura. Sakura stood there, holding back the threatening tears in her eyes. She clenched her fists in anger; but a smile formed on her lips. Her palms began bleeding as her fingers dug into her skin, but she continued to smile.
"Sakura, you're bleeding." He said.
She didn't hear him. She continued to let the warm blood drip from her skin and fall onto the roots of the beautiful tree, staining its bark with her sullen blood. Her smile remained on her face.
"Sakura, you look like an idiot smiling and bleeding," He said.
She didn't hear him once more. Her anger grew into rage, and her fingers continued to dig into her palm. She laughed to herself, and brought her hand up to her heart. Her hand unrolled, and she pushed her palm over her shirt. Blood stained her shirt and bled down to her skin, rolling down her body.
"My heart bleeds, Sasuke-kun," She said.
The boy just stares at her, holding back his emotions and keeping his emotionless face, unable to bring himself to say anything to her. Sakura then realized what she was doing, and stared at her bleeding palm.
"Oh my...did I say anything, Sasuke-kun? Why am I...bleeding?"
She looked up at her crush, back down at her palm, and then saw her shirt stained with blood. She felt the liquid crawling down her leg, and shivered at its warm touch.
"Sasuke-kun, did I do something? Did you make me bleed?"
Her mind was unaware of what had happened to her. While her rage had taken over her, she had gotten paranoid, seemingly pulled into a trance that had acted upon her bottled up emotions. Her heart and mind was telling her that something was wrong, but the two didn't mean the same thing. Her mind was telling her she was bleeding and that she would die if she couldn't stop it, but her heart was telling her it was bleeding, that Sasuke was just a heartthrob full of ice, and that he was worth nothing, but that he was also worth everything. Sakura was plunged into emotional confusion.
"Sakura. Sakura?" He called.
His voice trailed off through her ears, and she fell to the cold ground, her smile still gracing her lips.
End Flashback
Sakura's eyes opened slowly, tears rolling down her eyes. She stared at the tree's roots, and found where the blood had hit. She held the invisible stain, and closed her eyes in pain. Everything about this tree brought pain to her. Bringing her palm to her heart, she quietly sobbed, the breeze carrying her tears as far away from her as they could. She smiled through her sobbing, remembering the very words of her that night.
"My heart bleeds, Sasuke-kun..."
She stared at the emptiness before her, the moonlight hitting her tearstained face. She felt coldness encompass her, and she felt like she had fallen into an abyss, a never-ending abyss, filled with darkness. She was alone, her heart crying out in pain as her world turned colder and colder. Sakura's emerald eyes glistened as the moonlight hit them, and they stopped shining as they normally would. Loneliness overtook her body and mind, and she was unable to rid him from her memory. My new mission basically is suicide...
She got up from her spot, and made her way back home, ignoring the questioning stares that villagers gave her. She made it to her house, packing her things for her upcoming mission tomorrow. My mission is suicide...why...do I have to see him again? Why do I have to bring him back?
Her empty eyes stared at picture before her. Team 7. She ran her fingers over the delicate glass protecting her possession, and smiled. Just like the old days, ne? She carefully put it into her bag. She looked around the room to make sure she had forgotten nothing, and her eyes caught something else. A cherry blossom, withered away on her dresser. It had long withered away from its beauty; petals brown and dull. However, she kept it with her, always. It was a parting gift to her, from the man she had grown to love. Sure, he had left her for power, but she could not deny her heart's crying of his name; she could not deny him. She slowly walked over to the dresser, and gently touched its dead petals, and she remembered.
Flashback
Her mind did not know where her body was taking her. She just blindly followed herself until she reached the gates. There she found her crush – her love, with his back turned to her, ready to part. She ran to him, and he turned around. She found the surprise in his eyes, and realized that something was wrong. She did everything she could do to stop him, but to no avail. His eyes searched her one last time, and he reappeared behind her.
"Thank you," He muttered.
He hit her; knocked her senseless. He placed her on a bench, where she lay there, 'slumbering' peacefully like the angel he thought she was. He held a cherry blossom in his hand; he kept this blossom with him always. He kissed its petals and placed it in her palm, and closed her hand, making sure she did not lose the blossom. He turned and left, leaving his precious blossom behind.
End Flashback
Sakura looked at the delicate flower in her hand, and smiled. She had never known where it had come from, but deep inside, her heart was telling her it was part of the one she dearly loved. She had since followed her heart, and there she was, holding the delicate flower in her palm. Putting it back to its place on the dresser, she changed into her nightclothes, and went to bed, resting for the mission that lay ahead of her.
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Sunlight penetrated through Sakura's windows. The kunoichi awoke, and hurriedly got out of bed to get ready for her mission that would start today. She ate a quick breakfast of instant ramen, and gathered her things and left her home. Her ANBU team would meet up with her at the gates, as they always did. She knew that this mission would consist of not only her squad, but others as well. Sakura had tried arguing with Tsunade otherwise; that Konoha would be in grave danger if these specific people left, but Tsunade merely laughed at her statement, and reassured her that she still had Hatake Kakashi, Sakura's former sensei, Maito Gai, the pervert Jiraiya, and many other skilled chuunin and jounin. Sakura gave in, and left. She found herself at the gates, and found many other members of the mission waiting there. Among them were her friends Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata and Neji, Tenten, and Nara Shikamaru. She smiled and waved to them as she got closer and closer. They were all in ANBU attire, their masks hanging off their necks.
"Hey, forehead-girl! Are you completely psyched about this mission? I mean... we get to bring back—mmphh!" A blonde haired girl said, but was interrupted by the lazy genius.
"Troublesome...Ino, shut up!" The genius told the blonde.
"Shikamaru, but-..."
His hand clamped over her over mouth once again interrupted her. He turned his back to Sakura, and faced Ino.
"This topic isn't something you can yell right at Sakura, Ino," He hissed in her ear.
Ino just pouted at him, and agreed. She knew what she was going to say would bring even more heartache to her best friend. Shikamaru turned away from her, and resumed his laziness. Tenten ran up to Sakura and hugged her. Her chocolate eyes noticed Sakura's empty emerald ones, but decided to leave that conversation topic for when they broke camp later.
"Hiya, Sakura!" Tenten said.
Sakura smiled at her friend's antics.
"Hi, Tenten," She replied.
The two began conversing, and the two Hyuugas looked at them in awe.
"It's amazing how Tenten can make Sakura look so perky," The prodigy, Hyuuga Neji, observed.
His cousin looked at him, and laughed. He glared at her, questioning her.
"She's not happy, Neji-nii-san. Her eyes are empty," Hinata said.
Hinata, like Tenten, also noticed the absent glisten in Sakura's eyes. Hinata had long stopped stuttering after she had gained enough confidence and courage to speak to Naruto clearly. But, as always, Naruto was still dense and hadn't realized Hinata's feelings for him.
"Hn."
"SORRY I'M LATE EVERYONE!"
Everyone turned around, veins popping out of their foreheads.
"WHY ARE YOU SO LATE!" Ino, Sakura, and Tenten yelled.
He rubbed his forehead, and gave them his trademark smile.
"Who cares, let's start this mission already...you are all so troublesome..." Shikamaru said.
They all agreed to this, and put on their masks, and set off to accomplish their mission. Sakura silently followed them, and was lost in thought.
Is it time yet, Sasuke-kun?
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Hope you like my new story, everyone. A new idea popped into my head...xD Hope you liked the first chapter :D