Light Shaded Dream
Chapter 12 – Solo Mission
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
-:-
It was a year ago when Sakura last saw Sasuke. She has long gotten over being depressed, and managed to master her happiness, and zones out less and less. However, it'd be an understatement saying that Sakura 'likes' Sasuke. Her feelings for him dove deeper than that. She couldn't even be able to explain it when someone came up to her and asked about him.
Today was the last day of winter. Exactly a year ago, was when Sakura last saw Sasuke. And it was today, that she decided that she would get over her depression, and move on in life, hoping to see him once again. And when he sees her, she'll be truly happy, not faking her smiles, or faking her laughs. This time around, everything about her will be real. Sakura made her way to the hospital, clinging to her coat for warmth, cursing the winter's breath. However, she was happy that spring was coming. It meant that the bitter coldness would go away, and new life and warmth would grace the earth. She smiled to herself, thinking about all the wonderful cherry blossoms that could come weeks later, twirling at the steady rhythm the wind provided, filling the air with an intoxicating scent. Already, she could sense the sun's warmth beginning to increase, and already she began to watch the snow slowly thaw and turn into puddles of water to rejuvenate the plants it had killed. She sighed with relief, as she grew closer to the hospital. A blue jay landed on her shoulder as she took a shortcut through a park, and she smiled at it. It reminded her of "Mr. Blue Jay", the blue jay who would always listen to her pointless ranting during Sasuke's training. She bid him good day, and he flew off, allowing her to heal her patients. Before she completely made it to the hospital's entrance, she was interrupted.
"YOSH! SAKURA-CHAN!"
Sakura quickened her pace.
"SAKURA-CHAN! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH MAKE YOU EVEN MORE STUNNING EACH DAY!"
Sakura really sped up. She didn't want to face this guy. Not right now. She respected him as a good friend, but he seriously needed to find someone else to obsess over. Taking in a deep breath, Sakura turned around, and smiled.
"Lee, if you don't mind, I need to work now. So I'll talk to you later," She said.
The man with the bushy eyebrows, shiny bowl-cut hair, wearing the green spandex, smiled, and a faint PING! Could be heard as his teeth glistened.
"Heal your patients with your flames of youth! Gai-sensei awaits me!"
Konoha's Green Beast disappeared in a cloud of dust, and minutes later, faint shouts of "GAI-SENSEI!" and "LEE!" could be heard. Sakura sweatdropped at her friend and his sensei's antics, and she just made her way into the hospital.
The hospital was unusually busy today, with nurses and medical ninja rushing to and fro, from room to room. The hallways were cluttered with rolling carts and people, making it hard for Sakura to push through. She finally made it to the receptionist's desk, and smiled.
"Good morning, Haruno-san! Hyuuga-san and Tenten-san are waiting in Room 213. They requested your assistance," The receptionist said.
Sakura nodded in thanks, and rushed off to Room 213. She made it after several clashes with nurses and carts, and opened the door, to find a very pissed off Neji and a very pissed off Tenten in the middle of a glaring contest.
"Er...what brings you two here?" Sakura asked.
The couple looked at her, and Neji's glare turned into a smirk as he explained.
"Tenten exhausted herself while training, so I brought her here to make sure she was okay," He said.
Tenten was red due to embarrassment and anger, and she was about to punch Neji, when he stopped her by grabbing her fist.
"Neji, I do not need any medical treatment!" Tenten screamed.
Neji only smirked at her, and Sakura advanced slowly, hoping not to anger Tenten further.
"Tenten, just let me take a look at you, okay?" Sakura asked.
Tenten sighed, and calmed down, allowing Sakura to give her a check up. After several minutes, Sakura finished, and dug into her pocket, and took out a bottle. She took out a transparent blue pill, and handed it to Tenten.
"You just exhausted your chakra a little, nothing big. Just take this; it will restore your chakra back to normal in no time. Just be sure to take it easy for the next four hours," Sakura said.
Tenten nodded, and took the pill. She took the glass of water standing on the nightstand, and swallowed the pill, accompanied by the water. Tenten smiled in relief, feeling her energy slowly come to her.
"Thanks Sakura!"
Sakura smiled, and nodded.
"Sure, no problem. Well, I have more patients to tend to, so I'll see you guys later!"
The three said their good-byes as Sakura disappeared. Tenten looked to Neji, and smiled.
"Looks like she's back to normal," She said.
Neji looked at her, silently asking for an explanation.
"She's not faking it."
He understood, and the two left the hospital to look for more weapons.
-:-
Sakura's day was filled with healing ANBU who returned from their missions, but as nighttime fell, her shift soon ended, and she made her way home. The last winter breezes shook the air, bringing the village a soothing breeze. She walked slowly down the streets, wondering what Sasuke was doing at the very moment. She sighed, and stopped as she approached the end of the private Uchiha section of the village. It had long been deserted, and nobody dared claim the property theirs. They somehow knew that if Sasuke returned, it would definitely mean their death. So the trees and gardens were withering away, the manor filled with cobwebs and insects. Sakura stared at it for a while, and decided to enter. It was a beautiful place. Somehow, looking at it, it made her think of the Yamanakas; if the flowers and gardens were in full bloom, it would be like a fairytale. She made her way to the entrance to the mansion, and slowly opened the door. The house was filled with a bloody, decaying stench, and Sakura gagged. She left the door open in hope to let fresh air flow through the house. She made her way down the halls, surprised at how big at was, and how easy it would to get lost. She found many rooms, dusty, old, and red; she supposed the red was the dry blood left over from the massacre. Looking at such a sight made her heartbreak; she felt what it must have been like, to look over the bloody bodies of her relatives. In what seemed like an eternity, she reached what seemed the biggest room of the house. Instinct told her it was Sasuke's parent's room, and she bravely entered the room. Luckily for her, the bodies have long been buried, but she still saw the bloody stains. The room was a clattered mess. Kunai, shuriken, senbon, basically anything was impaled on the walls. Picture frames were cracked, but there lay one on the ground, in the middle of a pool of dry blood. She picked it up, almost throwing up, as she heard the cracking as it separated from the pool. Spitting on the cracked glass, she was able to remove the blood over the picture, and gasped. It was a picture of a young Uchiha Sasuke, riding on the back of his older brother, Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke and Itachi looked so happy, it was a wonder why those days had come to an end. Tears began to fall from her face, wishing that none of that day had ever happened, and that Sasuke had grown up like a normal kid, with a loving family, and a loving brother. She picked up the frame, and took it with her, silently asking for forgiveness from the deceased Uchiha for taking a possession. The frame was held close to her body as she exited the Uchiha grounds, and she made her way home, thinking.
On her way home, Sakura passed Sasuke's old apartment. She had reserved it and had been paying off the rent to make sure that it would not be bought by someone else, and decided to go inside. The house was still clean; she came everyday to make sure everything was clean and fresh, just in case he'd show up and need a place to stay. Finding the coffee table in the middle of the room, she placed the picture there, feeling that this was the rightful place for it to stay. Making sure the place was not robbed, she left, securely locking the door behind her.
Sakura made it home in half an hour, taking her time from getting to her house from Sasuke's. Sometimes, she'd imagine Sasuke standing in front of her, walking, smiling, and talking to her. That just showed her how much she longed to see him. However, she knew that was only a fantasy, and he'd only show up when he fulfilled his goal. Knowing him, he probably would have killed Orochimaru by now, and would just be training and searching for his brother. Opening the door to her house, she quickly changed into her pajamas, and crawled into her bed, pulling the covers over her, snuggling close to them, hoping to find stronger warmth.
It was midnight when Sakura heard a bird screech outside her window, and she hastily got up and ran to the Hokage's office. She had been summoned. Tapping three times on the door, she heard a drowsy "Enter", and she opened the door, to find the Hokage showered with towers of scrolls atop her desk. She sat down, and the Hokage handed her a scroll.
"There have been sightings of Sasuke up in the mountains. Your mission is to bring him back. I know this is sudden, but you will be leaving at 7:00 AM sharp in the morning. This will be a solo mission, as a squad would probably slow you down," The Hokage said.
Sakura stared at her wide-eyed, and reread the scroll several times.
"Understood."
"Good. Now get some sleep for your mission."
Sakura nodded, and vanished after performing hand seals. She reappeared in her house, and made her way to her bed. She placed the scroll with mission details on her nightstand, and crawled back into bed. Another mission to find Sasuke, she thought. I guess Tsunade-sama really wants him back... She smiled inwardly to herself. But I guess I do too.
-:-