Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
Thanks for the reviews! I really liked them. Sorry if I don't update fast enough, by the way. If you'd like to see my reasons, here they are: (I hope you guys can understand.)
1. School. I'm only in grade nine, and I've just started to work on this near the end of the school year- provincials, tests, exams are all coming up.
2. Life. I mean, I can't be on the computer all day long. I have piano, drum, dance lessons, I study chinese, starting lifeguard courses. Then there's the fact I'm trying not to be such a fat ass, lately. It probably doesn't sound that busy to you, but it takes up a lot of my free time, eheh.
3. Sunniness. Who likes to be cooped up inside their houses on a sunny day? I sure as hell don't. Summer is coming up here, and I'm starting to go out more often.
Sakura sat in a hotel, somewhere in the Fire country. It had been only days since the defeat of Orochimaru. She had barely slept or eaten since then, and it was showing. Her pink hair had become tangled and messy, there were dark circles under her eyes, and she was already slightly thinner than before. She got up from her bed and picked up her pack, then sprawled herself on the bed once again, thinking deeply to herself.
What would she do now? There was nobody left to turn to. She could start a new life somewhere- she had always wanted to travel, and she could continue being a kunoichi. Wandering ninjas for hire- they weren't uncommon, right? Sakura dumped her pack onto the bed. There was a small envelope containing three pictures and a small sum of money. She had some extra clothes, of course, and some food pills. There was her medical kit, and a few scrolls containing some weapons. Tenten had taught her how to use them, and it had definitely come in handy.
She picked up her head band as soon as it fell out of the pack. Konoha. Was she still loyal to them? Or did this count as abandonment? Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, unsure of herself. She traced the Konoha symbol engraved in the center of the metal plate, wondering if she should simply throw it away. It would always be a reminder of Konoha, of the life she once had before the war. Before her special ones had left her in the world to fend for herself. Sakura folded it up neatly and placed it back in her pack, not wanting to look at it anymore. She didn't want to scratch out the symbol just yet.
Sakura then picked up the three pictures and took a good look at them. One was of her parents and her when she was about five years old. They were all smiling in the photo. She sighed, they were such a perfect and happy family. Sakura remembered crying for hours when she hfad found out her parents had died in a mission. Naruto had been the one there to hug and comfort her the entire time. Even now she missed her mother's home cooked meals, and her father's tips on being the best kunoichi she could be. She was glad they couldn't see her now, completely pathetic and alone.
The next picture was of the former team seven, with a little picture of Sai's head attached to it by tape. She smiled at the memories she had with them. They were an unstoppable team- Team Kakashi. It was never boring going on missions with them. Sai and Naruto would always fight, and Kakashi and her would always be the ones to have to break them up. Sasuke sure missed out on a lot. It pained her just thinking about it.
Would any of this ever really happen if he hadn't left? If he hadn't left Konoha to become stronger with Orochimaru's power? He had a choice between staying in Konoha or leaving to go kill his brother, and he chose to leave. It still hurt Sakura a little, knowing that she, Kakashi, and Naruto weren't special enough for him to stay. It didn't matter, though. It had already been done, and there was no turning back.
The last picture was of everybody. It was during a festival, and everybody had met up at one of the fishing gamestands. Sakura had asked one of the civilians to take a picture of everybody- and this was the result. In the picture, Sakura was being given a piggy back from Naruto, and they were both grinning madly. She remembered how ecstatic Naruto seemed when she had accepted his offer to carry her on his back.
She looked at the others in the picture. Ino was glaring at Shikamaru who wasn't even looking at the camera, and Chouji was too busy eating some chips to bother smiling. Lee and Neji looked as if they were arguing with each other, and Tenten had a sheepish expression her face. The adults had smiled at the camera- they were probably the most normal-looking out of everybody that was there. Kiba had fallen into the water and his face was blood red with Akamaru laughing beside him. Shino's face was covered as always, and Hinata was twiddling her fingers as always. She studied Sai, who had an eyebrow raised, making him look quite silly.
Sakura almost smiled. Almost.
These were Sakura's most favourite pictures- but she had come such a long way since they were taken, though. For one, she was an ANBU, now. Sakura touched her arm where the black tattoo was. She remembered how hard it had been, but she had managed. When she was told that she passed, she had thrown a huge party in celebration. It was a major accomplishment for her, and she remembered partying all night because of it.
Sakura sighed, thinking that maybe it would be best if she took a little walk. Her chakra and some of her strength had been restored, and she had taken a shower earlier that morning. She also felt much calmer today, which meant she could think much more clearly. She brought her pack with her- it was the last of her things, and she didn't want to risk leaving it here. Somebody might come snooping in her room and take her things- one could never be too careful, right? Or maybe she was just being a little paranoid. Either way, she decided she was bringing her pack along.
Sakura walked around the small town, browsing through the stores. She had packed some money, and she decided that maybe her clothes were a little worn out. If worse came to worst, she could always 'borrow' some money from the civilians when they weren't looking. She came across a nice store at the edge of the town, and purchased some clothes. It was basically the same thing she had on right now- a medic skirt, black shorts, the normal items.
"Thank you, miss. Please come again!" The storekeeper exclaimed, waving her off cheerily. Sakura forced a smile and left. She wondered if she could ever smile genuinely again. The upwards turning of her mouth felt so awkward, so out of place- as if it didn't belong there. Sakura sighed, not paying attention to where she was headed.
As she continued walking, she kept trying to smile. Needless to say, it was difficult. She tried remembering some happy and funny moments, but it only made her miss everybody all over again. The tears stung, but she blinked them back. She was finished with crying. It wasn't going to help her get stronger, and it definitely wasn't going to bring them back. There was no point in letting them escape her eyes. She tried forcing another one, but she knew it looked too awkward to pass off as one. In the end, she had failed.
Failed. It was something she should be accustomed to. Something that she had been doing all her life. She couldn't even smile, for goodness sake! Sakura frowned at the thought. She failed Sasuke. Failed Naruto. Failed Tsunade. Failed herself. She failed everyone! Why couldn't she get anything right? It wasn't fair. She had worked so hard. She had become ANBU. She was an amazing medic and yet she still couldn't get anything right!
She found herself walking deeper and deeper into the forests. A part of her wished that some nasty creature would come out any second and consume her painlessly. She honestly wouldn't mind. There was nothing for her to live for, anyways. Nobody would miss her, and the people of Konoha probably already thought that their little medic was dead. She didn't want to think or remember anything anymore. Death sounded so peaceful, lovely even.
It was something to look foreward to, now that she thought of it. There would be no more problems. No pain, or any suffering. Death would end it all. It would end everything. She wouldn't have to feel like crying anymore. She wouldn't have to remember the others and feel the aching pain in her chest. Nope, she would be completely free from it all. And as for the happy times- there weren't going to be anymore. Hell, she had already forgotten how to smile. How can she be happy?
Sakura sat down at the base of a tree and took out a kunai. She looked at the clean, metal edges, and brushed a finger down the sharpness of it. She didn't grunt in pain when a trickle of blood dripped from the small cut she had created. It glowed green for a moment and was immediately healed. It was as if the cut had never been there. Sakura sighed, throwing it up in the air, then catching it expertly. She looked more closely at the edges. It was strangely... Inviting.
What if... What if she killed herself? She was weary and tired from travelling. She still felt slightly weaker from fending off Orochimaru, and remembering the faces of her friends sent a jolt of pain through her chest. Remembering what Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi had told her before they died made her want to rip her heart out before she could feel it just shatter again. She wanted to join them, wherever they were. She wanted to see them smiling happily.
She wanted to see Naruto being the goofball that he was. To have Kakashi show up ten minutes after the time he was supposed to. She wanted to join Shikamaru, being as lazy as usual, watching the clouds stroll by. She wanted to fall into another one of Kiba's pranks, and chase him around Konoha for a good hour. She wanted to hear Ino talking about the latest gossip she had just heard. She just wanted them back, but that was too much to ask for.
The kunai was looking even more appealing. She slowly, and reluctantly held it up against her thraot. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if she could pull through with it. Was she being cowardly? She knew the others wouldn't want her to do this. They'd want her to move on and be happy- but Sakura didn't want to move on. She wanted them alive, happy, and as healthy as can be.
She couldn't be happy. No. Not without them there by her side. She heard some rustling in the bushes beside her, but payed no attention to it. If whatever it was decided it wanted her dead, then so be it. She was already welcoming death with open arms. She held the kunai closer to her throat and swallowed nervously, feeling the sharp edge at her skin.
This was it. This was her last moment.
"What the hell?!" Sakura heard someone exclaim. She opened her eyes and came face to face with a tall, blonde man dressed in an... Akatsuki robe? It was that Deidara guy, the one she had run into when we were rescuing Gaara. Beside him was another Akatsuki member. Sakura assumed it was a boy because of the short, messy black hair, but she couldn't see his face since it was being obscured by an orange and black mask.
The kunai was forgotten and Sakura sat there, staring incredulously at them. Why hadn't they killed her yet? "Hello, miss. Tobi is pleased to meet you." The guy with the mask exclaimed, extending his hand for Sakura to take. She stared at it with wide eyes, unsure what to do with it. Was he actually helping her up? Sakura could hardly believe it. A member of the Akatsuki, an evil and crazy organization bent on taking over the world, was helping her off the ground.
Sakura looked up at Deidara, who didn't seem to recognize her yet. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him- had tried to kill Naruto. Sweet, innocent Naruto. Naruto, the boy who was basically her brother. He had tried to kill her brother. Deidara rose an eyebrow at the menacing look that Sakura was currently giving him and took a step back. Sakura stood up, suddenly feeling stronger than before. She could feel the andrenaline pumping through her veins.
She wanted to do one important thing before she died. She would kill this akatsuki monster, before it could hurt anybody else. He tried killing Naruto, and now she was going to try and kill him. It was only fair. Naruto was dead now, so why shouldn't this Deidara guy be? Why couldn't it be him dead instead Naruto? Sakura would rather have Deidara dead, anyways. Why did Naruto even have to die? Sakura's head clouded with grief, and she couldn't think clearly. Her thoughts were mixed up and jumbled.
Her hands started glowing with Chakra, and her Sharingan was immediately turned on. Deidara and Tobi stepped back defensively. They had no idea who and what she was doing. Deidara looked curiously at her sharingan- how come she only had one? The only person he knew that only had one sharingan was the infamous copy-nin Kakashi.
Her pink hair was strange as well. He had seen only one girl with hair like that. She lived in Konoha though, which was quite far from where they were. Yeah, he remembered her. Sakura was her name, or something like that. He had left his old partner Sasori to deal with her and the old hag. He could barely believe it when he found out who the winner was.
He'd heard of the girl before, from the different places he had travelled in. She was supposedly the Hokage's apprentice, and was an amazing medic. She had super strength and was unbelievably good at controlling chakra. She was also said to be quite a talented kunoichi. But this frail looking girl couldn't be her. He was also sure that the Sakura girl didn't have a sharingan eye. They were green the last time he'd seen her. This girl's other eye was... Green?
Suddenly she lunged at him, barely even thinking now. She just acted. It didn't matter to her if she lost, really. It was a win-win situation for her at the moment. Kill, and know that she had done at least one thing right in her life, or be killed, and be rid of all her anguish. She let instinct control her body, causing her to lash out at him angrily.
Deidara dodged her fist by barely an inch, but he was so surprised he had left an opening. Sakura punched him in the side with a chakra infused fist, sending him through a couple of trees before he finally stopped. She had already knocked Tobi unconscious- the poor guy didn't knew what had hit him- and was coming towards him again. Deidara groaned and stood up in a fighting position. His ribs were hurting a lot, but they were miraculously still intact.
She had gotten both of them off guard, Deidara realized. He had made a crucial mistake of underestimating the girl before him. He glanced over at Tobi, trying to see if he was breathing. He saw his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, and he felt a little relief wash over him. He turned his attention back to the girl, who's facial features was now expressionless, though her eyes held grief, sorrow, anger, and confusion all in one. She seemed to be thinking to herself for a moment.
"What's your problem?!" Deidara decided to speak. Sakura snapped out of her trance and looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "We didn't do anything to you, yeah- in fact, we stopped you from cutting yourself over there. Were you trying to kill yourself?" He furrowed his eyebrows at the thought. "That's pathetic, yeah. Who are you, anyways?" He asked, curious. He had a suspicion that maybe this girl was the Sakura Haruno he had heard so much about.
"None of your business, Akatsuki." Sakura spat, glaring at him. Deidara shrugged and in just a second, he had a kunai pressed against the back of her neck with her arms held back. He wasn't going to kill her just yet, though. He wanted to ask a few more questions to the rebellious kunoichi glaring at him.
Deidara was surprised she attacked with the knowledge that he was Akatsuki. He smirked. They usually ran away in fear.
"I'll say it again, yeah. Who are you?" Deidara asked. Sakura didn't reply, and Deidara added a little pressure to the kunai, which caused 'Sakura' to disappear with a pop. Instead of holding Sakura, he was holding a log. He looked around, surprised she had been able to escape. He had to admit, she was a little tricky, but a little stunt like that didn't mean she was too talented, though. He scoffed. Anybody could've done that. The rumors about her were probably false.
"Sakura Haruno." Sakura exclaimed, stabbing a kunai into his arm from behind. Deidara grunted in pain and lunged at her, but she managed to dodge it. He immediately changed his mind- so maybe the rumors were a little true. He hadn't sensed or heard her come at him at all. She suddenly disappeared again, and Deidara calmed down enough to hear something rumbling underneath him. He jumped out of the way just in time- Sakura herself had erupted from the ground, her kunai pointing upwards.
Deidara frowned. He was one of the most wanted shinobi around. He was part of the Akatsuki- an organization feared by all. He couldn't help but feel a little embarassed he had actually been hit, but the feeling quickly passed. The girl was the hokage's apprentice. Besides, he was having too fun. The small girl was putting up quite a good fight- something he hadn't been able to have in quite a while. She was cute, too, now that he thought of it.
"Take this, yeah!" He exclaimed, as he threw down three clay spiders her way. Sakura ripped a large branch off of the tree nearest to her and swung it at the spiders, making them explode before they hit her. It was too small to even break through the branch, and she swung it towards Deidara, who jumped out of the way once again. He looked around to see if any of her friends were there to back her up, and found it strange when he saw none. "Why are you all alone?"
It seemed to hit something in Sakura, and she stopped swinging the huge tree branch for a moment. Now, not only did her head hurt, but so did her heart. The small moment didn't last long, because she suddenly squeezed the branch so hard it broke, splinters flying everywhere. She looked up, fury evident in her face. "I don't need to explain anything to you, you bastard!"
Deidara noticed this, and continued to press further on the subject. "Why, did all your friends leave you? Is poor little Sakura-chan all by herself?" He asked, taunting her. He watched her expression change from anger, to sadness, and back to anger in just a few seconds. He really must've pissed her off to cause such a quick change.
"Shut up." Sakura growled, infuriated. How dare he make fun of her. She threw a couple of exploding tags at him, but he dodged each one. She remembered her weapons scroll, but it was back in the pack quite a bit away. She was running out of weapons fast. She wanted Deidara dead more than anything in the world at the moment. She wanted to take her kunai and stab it through his throat, and watch gleefully as he slowly died a painful death. The blood would pour out of his wounds, and she would laugh.
"No, I won't, kunoichi." Deidara said, smirking when she growled again. He was having a lot of fun with this, actually. "I'm not surprised they left someone like you, yeah. I bet they're not coming back, either." He said. He didn't realize how much those words hurt her, and she simply stood there, looking down at the ground.
Why was she letting someone she barely even know make her feel like that? Sakura clenched her fists. He was right, though. They left her because she was too weak to protect them, and he was right about the second thing, too. They were never coming back. Sakura looked up at Deidara, and then away from him with a pained expression.
She didn't deserve to live. She didn't deserve to be happy. She looked back up and saw that Deidara was making something out of his clay, but even so, she didn't bother moving. She would let it explode as it came into contact with her. She would die, and she'd be with the others once again. She stood still, readying herself. She silently told herself that she would be with the others, soon.
Deidara noticed the expression on her face, and the sudden lifelessness of her, and wondered curiously what had triggered it. Maybe her friends really had left and abandoned her. She wasn't even attacking him anymore. Deidara grew even more curious- there was simply too many questions to ask. Questions about why anybody would abandon such an amazing kunoichi? He decided he wanted to try one more thing, a little experiment.
He infused the clay with some of his exploding chakra, but only enough that it would knock someone out. He threw it at her, and watched as she stood still, eyes closed, ready for the impact. Deidara rose an eyebrow as the explosion had knocked her out just as he had expected. He didn't think she would wait for it to hit her.
He cautiously walked towards the girl, unsure if she was faking it or not. When he saw the green chakra, he immediately took out a kunai, expecting her to jump up and attack him, but when she did not, he wandered a little closer. The burns she had received from the small explosion were starting to heal. He nudged her shoulder with the end of his feet, but she didn't react or anything. She was knocked out cold.
Deidara stood above the pink haired kunoichi, who was looking as helpless as when he had first found her with the kunai pressed against her throat, and contemplated on what to do. To be honest, he was quite interested in the girl. He wanted to ask her exactly what had happened to make her willing to end her own life. It had to be horrible, considering she was such a great kunoichi, known everywhere. Probably even places she had never been to or heard about.
Deidara decided he'd bring her along, and he figured that he'd be able to control her better with Tobi. And if she tried to escape, then so be it. It didn't matter to him if she lived or not. If she did decide to stay, however highly unlikely the chances were, then he was sure the Akatsuki wouldn't mind letting her join. They've been needing a medic for quite a while, actually, and she was known as second best. Tsunade, one of the legendary sannin was first of course.
He threw her over his shoulder and headed over to Tobi to wake him. He nudged Tobi with his foot, causing him to wake slowly. Deidara ordered him to bring the pack Sakura had left behind the tree- she'd probably want that. "Is Pinkhair-chan going to be travelling with Deidara and Tobi?" Tobi asked, sounding excited as he picked up her small pack. He wouldn't mind having the pretty pink haired girl travel with them- even though she did knock him out. He would forgive her for that.
"Her name is Sakura, Tobi. And she will be travelling with us, yeah." Deidara replied, causing Tobi to grin behind his mask. He was glad that he finally had some other person to talk to other than Deidara-senpai. Deidara-senpai was always mean to Tobi, so hopefully Sakura-chan wouldn't be. He would become friends with the pretty pink haired miss.
Deidara and Tobi took off in haste, with Sakura on Deidara's shoulder. Tobi had asked if he could have a turn carrying her, but Deidara refused to hand her over, saying that Tobi might drop her. Tobi whined for a little while, but Deidara shook his head- his decision was final. He was going to be the one carrying the kunoichi. She wasn't too heavy, and it seemed as if she hadn't been eating for a while.
They were able to travel through the forest for about twenty minutes before Sakura started stirring. "Am I dead?" She asked, looking around, confused. She was moving, but how? She then realized that why she was moving was because she had been captured, and her captor was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. She started struggling, and Deidara stopped. "Put me down." Sakura demanded, angrily.
"I don't think you want me t-"
"I said, put me down!" Sakura interrupted him, and Deidara shrugged, dropping her down into the shallow part of the river. They had been travelling through the tree tops, in a northern direction. They just so happened to be above the river when Sakura had ordered to be let go. "What the hell was that for?!" Sakura exclaimed, furious. She let out a frustrated cry.
"You told me to, yeah." Deidara replied, jumping down from his branch and onto the dirt. Tobi jumped down too, offering Sakura a hand again. She smacked it away, and got up herself. She glared at Deidara, who rose an eyebrow. "What are you mad at me for?"
Sakura didn't reply to that, and instead asked a question of her own. "Why didn't you kill me?" She asked, sounding more angry than confused. She started shivering, and Tobi took off his cloak and offered it to her as well. She looked at it as if it was poisonous, but said a polite "No thank you". She wasn't going to accept anything from the 'bad guys'.
"We didn't have a reason to, yeah. Besides, I wanted you alive to ask a few questions." Deidara replied, watching her try to warm herself up. Her clothes were ripped and dripping wet, and Deidara sighed, feeling sorry for her. "Take the cloak, yeah. You'll get sick." She stared at him in shock. Why was he acting all concerned? Her small moment of shock ended and she resumed to being the stubborn girl she was.
"No, I'll be f-fine." She replied, her teeth chattering. The river was freezing, and she had landed on her ass. "A-and what type of q-questions? I-I'm not g-giving you any i-information on K-Konoha, if that's w-what you're th-thinking." She said, rubbing her hands up and down her bare arms. She used some of her chakra to keep the flow of her blood moving to keep warm, but it wasn't working fast enough.
Deidara sighed and took off his cloak, wrapping it around Sakura, who was protesting against it. When she realized how warm it was, she immediately stopped, wrapping it even more tightly around herself. She looked over at Deidara suspiciously. Just because he let her use his cloak, it didn't mean she was willing to spill anything. He rolled his eyes at her obvious suspicion. He wasn't going to harm her, unless she attacked or anything. And even if she did attack, she'd most likely hurt herself more, anyways.
"No, just about why you were holding your kunai to your throat, yeah." He said, and Sakura's eyes widened before she looked down. She bit her lip, wondering if it would be okay to tell him. Did it even matter anymore? And was talking to him willingly some kind of treason to Konoha? Even though she wasn't really a part of Konoha anymore, she still felt like she had to be loyal to the village she had grown up in.
She started to become curious, too. Why was he helping her, anyways? Would he kill her after she answered his question? There was too many questions that she wanted to ask. "I... I don't need to tell you." Sakura said, looking away. It was obvious whatever had happened was still fresh in her head. Deidara felt a little pang in his chest at seeing the girl like this. He didn't care, though. Of course not. He was only pitying her. "Are you... Are you going to kill me?"
"Do you want me to?" Deidara asked. With this said, Tobi stood up in front of Sakura defensively, saying that he didn't want her dead. Sakura was beyond confused, but she wasn't sure what she really wanted. She already would've been dead if it hadn't been for them. She wanted to know more about them, now, but at the same time she still wanted to end everything.
"It doesn't matter." Sakura replied, and Deidara shrugged, saying that he won't. "What are you going to do to me, then?" Sakura asked, still a little suspicious. She wasn't about to be taken advantage of, if that's what they were planning to do. She'd put up a pretty good fight before that would ever happen.
"I don't know. I'm still wondering why you're all alone." Deidara replied. He was genuinely interested in what her reasons were- and he had a pretty damn good reason. Here, standing in front of him, was one of the most known kunoichi in the world- and she would have killed herself if he hadn't interfered. Things like this weren't common, and he had been quite bored lately.
"Oh, I see... How come you aren't hurting or torturing me, then?" She asked, still suspicious. They could've been playing everything up to get information about... About Naruto. Maybe they were trying to gain her trust, and then ask her questions about him. He was probably only concerned about the nine tailed demon that was inside of her friend. Too bad for him, though. Akatsuki would never be able to get their hands on it, now.
"That's not my style, yeah. That's more like Kisame and Itachi, if you ask me." Deidara replied, sitting down on a large rock and throwing some pebbles into the water. Sakura, still not completely trusting, asked him what his style was. Deidara grinned, "My style? It's art, yeah." He threw some of his clay bombs into the air and watched as it exploded, sparks flying everywhere. Sakura couldn't help but stare up at it- it really was a form of art. The large flash of colours, gone in just an instant. She had to admit, she liked it.
"It's going to get dark soon, yeah. Tobi, let's get going." Deidara exclaimed, standing up. Tobi nodded, and handed Sakura her pack. She took it, mumbling a little thanks in return. She wondered what she would do, now. Should she follow them? Or walk around aimlessly until she either found a village or got killed? None of them really sounded too appealing anymore.
"What about me?" Sakura asked, more to herself than to anybody else. Tobi suggested that she came along with him and Deidara, while Deidara shrugged, saying he didn't really care. Deciding that she had nothing left to lose, she tagged along, as silent as ever. Tobi welcomed her and immediately started talking. Sakura stayed quiet and let him talk. She wasn't really paying attention since she was too busy thinking to herself.
Did this count as betraying Konoha? Why did it even matter, anyways? She was dead to them, now. She was also free. She could do anything she wanted. She could start a new life, or end it as soon as possible. She sighed, unsure of what to do. She wished desperately that she could have someone else decide for her. Usually her Inner helped with tough decisions like this, but when all friends had died, apparently so had her Inner.
She had no idea what she was doing, or where she was going, but following these two could be a start to something. Would her friends have agreed with her decision? It's not like she would ever know- they were gone, now. Sakura sighed inwardly. She had to stop thinking about them too much. She would have to move on at one point. It's what they would've wanted her to do.
Sakura was so deep in thought that she didn't realize that both Deidara and Tobi had stopped in front of her, causing her to crash straight into their backs. "Ow!" She exclaimed, stumbling back a little before falling on her butt for the second time today. She looked to see what had made them stop, and found that they were staring at, well, empty space. She looked up at Deidara, waiting for an explanation.
"Let's set up camp, yeah." Deidara exclaimed. "I'll go out and get some food- Tobi, you set up the tents. And pinky, you set up the fire, yeah." He smirked when he saw Sakura's distaste at the nickname he had given her. She opened her mouth and was about to say something, but she decided that it wasn't worth wasting a breath on, and picked herself up, headed into the trees to gather some wood.
Sakura quickly got the fire going, and had piled some extra wood a few feet away for later on. She then helped Tobi set up the tents, much to Tobi's delight. He started chatting away while Sakura stayed silent, listening. She hadn't expected any of the Akatsuki to be anything like Tobi. He was talkative, sweet, polite, and quite cheerful- but that didn't mean she trusted or liked him just yet. Looks could be deceiving. Every ninja knew that.
"Sakura-chan, don't you miss your village?" Tobi asked, tilting his head to the side. That was a stupid question. Of couse she did- it was where she grew up and met her friends. Sakura nodded her head slightly, and Tobi sighed. "Tobi doesn't remember where he came from. Sakura-chan is lucky she remembers."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Tobi." Sakura replied, though she had to disagree with him. She knew exactly who was the luckier one, and it definitely wasn't her. He didn't have to remember all the ones who he left behind, or the ones who left him behind- but then again, she had the wonderful memories she wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Her thoughts wandered over to the picture in Konoha, with everybody at the festival. They all shared so many great times, and they were supposed to share more.
"Sakura-chan doesn't have to be sorry. It wasn't her fault." Tobi said, sounding a little sad. Sakura fought the urge to pat his back in comfort. She shouldn't even be feeling sorry for this criminal. Akatsuki was an evil, despicable organization. They went out killing people for the greedy purpose of taking over the world. They went on missions, assasinating people, stealing things...
Something that all ninja do.
Now that she thought of it, it didn't really seem like it was that evil. They had missions to do, goals to achieve, things common with any other ninja. There wasn't really anything too special about them besides the fact they've been giving Konoha trouble, and that their main objective was to take over the world with the demons- though I highly doubt that would ever happen. And since Naruto's gone, the nine-tails is, too.
Tobi was now chatting happily about 'his Deidara-senpai', the greatest, but meanest partner in the world- according to him. He told Sakura how Deidara was very mean to him, and usually sent him exploding clay birds that looked very much like real ones. Suddenly a little brown and white bird came hopping towards us. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows as she examined it. It was such a peculiar looking thing- she was sure she'd never seen a bird look like that. It hopped towards Tobi, who reached out to touch it, but before his hand made contact, the bird exploded, sending sparks everywhere. It was a harmless explosive, but the two jumped nonetheless.
"See what Tobi means, Sakura-chan? Deidara-senpai can be such a bully." Tobi exclaimed, probably pouting. Sakura couldn't tell because his face was hidden behind the mask. Why didn't he take it off? There was no one around them, anyways. She doubted he could be too ugly, but she'd been wrong before. She watched as Deidara walked in, carrying six, dead fishes in his hands, and a kunai in his mouth.
"Tobi is a bad boy." He said, hitting Tobi over the head with one of the fish. Tobi yelped, rubbing his head in obvious pain. Had it been different people, Sakura just might've laughed, but it wasn't. It was Tobi and Deidara, two dangerous, S-Class criminals. She rose an eyebrow at their behaviour, but didn't comment on it or anything. It would probably be better if she acted like a good little girl for now.
"Ouch, Deidara-senpai! That wasn't very nice at all." Tobi whined. Deidara told him to suck it up or else he wouldn't share any of his fish with him. Tobi immediately became silent- he was obviously hungry. Sakura watched as Deidara started cooking to fish over the fire. She could smell it from where she was sitting and her mouth started watering. She hadn't eaten all day, she realized. Suddenly Sakura's stomach grumbled and Deidara and Tobi both looked up at her, Deidara had a smirk on his face. She immediately blushed, embarassed.
"Well somebody is obviously hungry, yeah." Deidara said, his smirk still on his face. Sakura's face turned even more red, and Deidara chuckled. Sakura was still confused about everything- they definitely weren't anything she had expected. He tossed her a fish, which she expertly caught, and took a bite into it, savouring the taste. She didn't bother checking if it was poisoned or not- it didn't matter to her. She was one of the greatest medics- she could handle a bit of poison.
She ate her fish in silence, wondering exactly what she had gotten herself into. Deidara and Tobi, they hadn't asked any questions about Konoha or the war- hell, they probably haven't even heard of the war with Orochimaru yet. She sat there, staring at her half-eaten fish, and she suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore. "Are you going to eat that?" Tobi asked, poking her side. She sighed, shaking her head and then handed the fish over to Tobi, who took it happily.
Sakura took a stick and started poking at the fire, reminiscing about the times she had done the very same thing she was doing, except with Naruto and Sai. Right now they would be arguing over something stupid, like who had a bigger dick, and Sakura would be the one to break the two idiots apart. Then they would shut up for only a moment before Sai would make another off-handed comment about either her or Naruto, which would start another argument. She never would've thought she'd be missing something so unbearably annoying as Sai and Naruto fighting, but she did. Tears stung her eyes but she quickly wiped them away.
Her little motion didn't go unnoticed by Deidara, who was currently eating his third fish. He was even more curious about what had happened to cause the kunoichi so much pain. He knew that she didn't trust him in the slightest, and she probably wasn't going to for a long while, but he was willing to wait. Unlike Sasori, he could say that he was actually quite patient.
Deidara sat there, examining the petite woman. She was an adult, but was probably a great deal younger than him. He took a look at her hair, wondering if the bright pink was really natural. He had never in his life seen someone with such an exotic hair colour. He also noticed that her right eye was a deep shade of emerald green, and her left was a dark, almost black colour. Both were sparkling because of the tears threatening to spill. He was tempted to ask again, but decided to leave her alone for now. Tobi obviously didn't even consider giving the girl some peace because he slung an arm over her shoulder, asking if she was okay.
Sakura nodded, saying she was fine, and shrugged off Tobi's arm from his shoulder. She got up, mumbling something about going to to the stream to wash up for a bit. She didn't even wait for a reply and simply walked off in the direction of the stream. She really needed to clear her mind. She absolutely refused to cry in front of the Akatsuki. Deidara watched her leave, wanting to know how she had obtained the Sharingan- she wasn't an Uchiha, that was for certain.
Sakura sat by the stream, washing her face and mouth quickly. She looked at her reflection in the water and sighed. Her hair was starting to grow out again- it would be time to cut it soon. She found a large boulder hanging over the water and decided to sit on it, taking off her sandals and dipping her feet into the cool water. It relaxed her a bit, and she shut her eyes for a moment, listening quietly.
She could hear the trees and bushes rustling because of the wind, and the grasshoppers chirping. It was times like this Sakura could really feel peaceful. A frog croaked, and jumped beside her. It reminded her greatly of the ones Naruto had always summoned. "Hey there, little guy." She murmured, and the frog sat still, staring at her. It croaked one last time before jumping back into the water. "I miss them." She murmured to herself again.
The water was cold, colder than how the skin felt on the corpses she had came across the other day. It was liquid ice, freezing her feet until it became numb. Cold and numb. Two words that perfectly described how she felt that instant. She took her feet out of the water, examining her now wrinkley toes. She hadn't realized how long she had left it in there. Sakura decided that maybe it was time to head back and go to sleep.
By the time Sakura had come back to camp, the fire was almost out and Tobi and Deidara were nowhere to be seen. She glanced at the two tents, wondering which she would be sleeping in, or if she would be sleeping outside. It was chilly, and she decided to risk going into the one to her right. The inside of the small tent was completely pitch black, and as she crawled around, she realized that nobody was in it except for her. She yawned, realizing just how tired she actually was, and settled down on one side of the tent, pulling the cloak around her for warmth. In a matter of minutes, Sakura's breathing had evened out and she was fast asleep.
Tobi and Deidara came out from the forest a few minutes later, both now washed up and ready to go to sleep. They had travelled to a different part of the stream to give Sakura some privacy- who knows what she would have done if she had thought they were peaking in on her. Tobi yawned, and crawled into the tent closest to him. "Good night Deidara-senpai! Good night Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed, before settling down to sleep. Deidara yawned, tired as well. He crawled into his bed, currently unaware of Sakura.
He had assumed that Sakura was in Tobi's tent, but when he felt something soft and warm, he immediately flinched, completely surprised. He wondered if he should just sleep outside and give the girl some space, but he was much too exhausted, and he would way rather be sleeping in the tent than out in the open. Besides, he had caught the food- he deserved to sleep in the tent. He settled down on the other side of the tent, making sure that there was no contact between the two of them in any way. Exhaustion soon took over his body and Deidara fell asleep.
"Ino, back me up!" Sakura yelled as three sound shinobi lunged at her. She dodged both, punching one of them in the stomach, causing him to fall back, gasping for air. She had barely used any chakra in that, and he was already on his knees. Sakura grinned at this, and she quickly turned, kicking her other opponent in the head. She heard the crack as the impact broke his neck and killed him instantly. Ino ran up to Sakura, she was covered in cuts and bruises everywhere. She threw a kunai straight into the back of the last shinobi, killing him as well.
They had been fighting for hours on end, now- who knew Orochimaru had recruited so many ninja? Even with Konoha's ally Sand, they were still having a very difficult time handling everything that was going on. Sakura sighed as she watched Ino heal herself- she was still a medic in training, and they were both near the back of all the fighting because Konoha couldn't afford to lose too many medic-nins. Every once in a while, a few of Orochimaru's men would somehow snake their way through and reach them.
"I want to be up where Kakashi and Naruto and Sai are." Sakura exclaimed, worried. She wanted to be fighting with her boys, but they had forced her to stay back, afraid for her safety. She had made quite a big fit, arguing angrily that she could very well take care of herself, but they didn't buy it. Now, though, they couldn't stop her. Not when they weren't around to hold her back. "There's much more action there, and I know I'll be able to handle it..." She murmured to herself. She really wanted to go.
"Then go, Sakura. Nobody's holding you back. Just... Just be careful, okay forehead?" Ino asked, looking at Sakura sadly. It may just be the last time the two would ever speak to each other again, they realized. Sakura nodded, thanking her with a hug. When they let go of each other, they bowed their heads, unable to say their last good bye. Sakura then ran towards the front of the lines. She was determined to reach the others in time and help as much as she could. She was sick of being in the back- she was a capable fighter!
As she ran farther a head, she saw more fighting, more injuries, more death. She fought her way through, slicing through each of her opponents with a sword she had picked up a little way behind. Her training with Tenten had definitely paid off, that was for sure. She soon made it to the front, where most of the fighting was happening. Both sides of the war seemed equal in power, and she continued fighting her way through, looking for her team.
"Sakura. It's been a long time."
It was that voice. That low, silky voice that had haunted her dreams when she was younger. Sakura turned around to find Sasuke staring at her. She hadn't seen him in years, not since Naruto, Sai, Yamato and her had seen him back on that mission. She was about to say something when he suddenly lunged at her, his weapon ready.
She immediately blocked it with her sword, her eyes filled with hurt and confusion. Would he really try to kill her? She had loved him, cared for him, held a fiery passion for him, and he was going to throw it all away? Would he really try to end her efforts of bringing him back? He simply couldn't. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. The final battle, this war, it was going to decide whether her training was enough. She was not going to let everything she had worked so hard for waste away.
"You've been training, I see." He said, sounding mildly impressed. He lunged at her again, except in a faster, super human speed. Sakura dodged him- she hadn't trained with the Hokage for nothing. The two fought for a while, unable to land even one hit on one another. "Amazing, really." Sasuke murmured, barely loud enough for Sakura to hear. Was that softness in his voice? Sakura could barely believe her ears. He had just complimented her. Sasuke-kun never did that.
They both paused for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. There were so many emotions running through his face, Sakura could barely keep up. Sadness, loneliness, worry, fear, and was that love? There were many more she hadn't been able to recognize as well. He slowly raised his hand to touch her cheek, gently, and she didn't bother stopping him. Here, in front of Sakura, was the boy she had fallen in love with years ago. Suddenly they heard a low chuckle, and Sasuke's arm dropped to his sides.
"Why isn't it little Sakura-chan. My, you've grown since I have last seen you." Orochimaru exclaimed, walking up to Sasuke from behind. He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, and Sakura saw him immediately tense. She watched as the kunai and shuriken that were thrown in Orochimaru's direction were immediately deflected by snakes he had summoned. Everybody around them were so occupied with their own fights, though, that none tried attacking him personally. Sakura took a cautious step back- could she really beat Orochimaru? One of the legendary sannin? It had taken her years to finally surpass Tsunade-sama, but she had been growing older and older. Orochimaru switched into younger, more stronger bodies. He had an advantage.
Suddenly a snake lashed out at Sakura, causing her to stumble back in surprise. Orochimaru laughed, and Sakura looked at Sasuke with pleading eyes. All emotion was gone from his face, and Sakura took another step back. What had happened? There had been something there just a few seconds ago, and then it completely disappeared. Sakura bit her lip as she cautiously moved backwards some more, making sure her eyes never left the two. Where was Kakashi? And Naruto? She hadn't been able to find them yet.
"Sasuke. Hurry up and kill her." Orochimaru said, as he deflected another kunai coming straight at him. Sakura looked back at Sasuke, unsure of what he was going to do. She couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling since his face was expressionless. His eyes turned hard as he readied himself to fight her. Sakura went into a more defensive position and waited for him to attack first. She doubted he actually would, but she didn't want to risk it. She suddenly had an idea, and she began to speak.
"Sasuke, please. You don't have to do this." Sakura exclaimed, hoping desperately he wouldn't try to kill her that moment. "Leave Orochimaru. Come with me, I'll make you happy! I swear it!" She continued. She suddenly started getting emotional, and tears appeared, threatening to spill. Sasuke's face still stayed emotionless, but Sakura continued on. "You can't get your revenge on your brother. Don't you get it? Revenge isn't going to stop there. You're going to want more. More blood, more killing. Sasuke, you have to stop. You don't understand-"
"No, Sakura. You're the one who doesn't understand." Sasuke replied, calmly. He was hiding his emotions, Sakura was absolutely sure of it. "You've never had everybody you've loved killed by your own brother. Someone you trusted, someone you looked up to. I loved my brother, Sakura, and he tortured me- took everything I had. He made me go through a living hell. You will never understand my pain or the rage after learning exactly what he had done. I need to kill Itachi no matter what." Sasuke continued, his voice slightly shakier by the end of his sentence.
"I may have never felt your pain, but I understand what revenge is, and going through with it will not solve anything. It's a cycle, Sasuke. It's never going to end. You'll feel empty inside, just like you do, now." Sasuke was about to open his mouth to reply but Sakura wouldn't let him. "You cannot honestly tell me you're happy like this. I refuse to believe it. Just let it go, and start a new life. One with me, and Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei. We can go back to Konoha, together. We'll be happy, Sasuke." Sakura said, blinking back the tears. His expression wavered for a second, but hardened just as fast.
"No. I've trained too hard to stop-"
"Then use your skills for good! Please, Sasuke, listen to me." Sakura exclaimed, almost trembling now. "Look around you! This is what revenge is- utter destruction. Everybody gets hurt because of revenge, even the innocent ones." She took a step towards him. "There are people who still care about you. Who love you, and would die for you. Please, Sasuke... Don't you want to be happy?" She asked, softly. Sakura had slowly been walking towards him until they were barely even a foot apart.
"I... I want..."
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, and his mouth turned into a confused frown. He didn't know what to do, what to think. He didn't even know what he wanted at the moment. "Sasuke..." Sakura murmured, before closing the gap. He stood still for a moment, shocked at what was happening. He returned the kiss gently, unsure of what to do. When he felt her tongue run over her lips, he knew, at that moment, exactly what he wanted. The kiss became more passionate, heated, but suddenly they were pulled apart.
"You've let this girl distract you long enough, Sasuke. I'm afraid I'm going to have to dispose of her before it gets too far." Orochimaru exclaimed, preparing to attack Sakura. She took a step back, terrified at what he would do. Suddenly Sasuke stepped in front of her, demanding that she would not be hurt. Her eyes widened in surprise- just a moment ago he was ready to kill her. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Sasuke." Orochimaru replied, a sick grin plastered on his face. "Now get out of my way."
"No." Sasuke replied, defiantly. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. The kid was rebellious, rude, and sometimes even disrespectful, but when it came to killing, he usually did as was told.
"I said get out of my way." Orochimaru replied, sounding irritated. Every so often there would be kunai, shuriken, and other weapons that would come, aimed towards Orochimaru. He had to deflect each one as he waited for Sasuke to kill Sakura. Orochimaru was tired of waiting. There was no end to the waiting, waiting, waiting! He could see why Sasori had hated it so much!
He was tired of waiting for Sasuke to kill Itachi, so he could finally transfer into his body. He was tired of Sasuke and his uncontrollable temper. He was tired of his disobedience, especially the way he thought he could do anything he pleased. Orochimaru was tired of everything. He only had so much patience.
"I won't." Sasuke replied, causing Orochimaru to sigh. 'Sasuke-kun' had threw away his last chance, Orochimaru decided. Now he simply couldn't wait anymore.
"Then have it your way." He replied, opening his mouth. A snake shot forth, and out of the snake's mouth was a sword, which pierced through Sasuke immediately. Sakura had leapt out of the way in time. Sasuke coughed up blood, surprised that Orochimaru had actually attacked him. Orochimaru pulled the sword back into his mouth, causing Sasuke to grunt in pain. Sakura gasped, running back to heal him immediately.
"You bastard." Sasuke exclaimed, as soon as Sakura had healed him. He lunged at Orochmaru with his sword drawn, and a battle erupted between the two. Sakura could only sit there and watch as the two attacked each other. Sasuke was Orochimaru's equal. They fought long and hard, barely able to land blows upon one another. Suddenly Orochimaru turned to face Sakura with a sly grin, and Sakura backed up.
Sasuke saw him look at her and growled, fiercely. There was no way he was going to let Orochimaru touch her. "Don't you dare." He hissed, but Orochimaru paid no heed and lunged at Sakura. She froze, completely forgetting everything. All her hard work and intense training- all was forgotten at that moment. She closed her eyes and waited for her death to come and-
Sorry there wasn't any romance in the chapter or anything, but it wouldn't have been realistic if there was. I don't believe in love at first sight so I guess there's not going to be any of that in my story.
Sorry if it seems to just keep going on. This chapter was originally meant to be part of the first, but I decided to seperate the two and make this one longer. At first it was only 7000 words, so I had to add more things.
Well, I hope you enjoyed it so far! Please review!