Within Her Shell: Chapter 7
"Please." Sakura's head bowed low, her heart beating fast.
The old woman shook her head, her forehead wrinkled even more.
"Sakura, I am tired of this. I will not deal with betrayers and murderers like him. Do you not understand?"
Sakura raised her head to look at the elderly woman.
"I do, but-" Sakura began once more but was immediately cut off.
"No, I don't think you understand." Sumi insisted.
"Demo, Sumi-san, aren't all ninjas murderers?"
There was an abrupt silence and the intensity hung heavily in the air.
"Tsunade has disappointed me, to raise such a medic." Sumi said at last, her grey eyes seem wary with age. With those as her last words, she turned and shut the door quietly behind her.
"Sumi-san…" Sakura whispered, her green eyes never leaving the wooden door where the famous medic once stood.
"Sakura." For a minute, she had almost forgotten that Sasuke was there with her.
"Step back." His right hand was now extended backwards, a blue light slowly flickering in his palm and the sound of thousands of birds gradually forming. Sakura looked at it for only a moment and immediately understood.
"No."
"Sakura, move."
"Sasuke, it would not work. She would not heal you even if you kill her."
"I've already warned you." He said coldly before disappearing and reappearing again inside the cabin to face the angered medic.
"You took longer than I thought." Sumi murmured before performing a series of quick seals and jumping high into the air and vanishing.
His sense of hearing, still not as sharp as he would like it to be, frustrated him. He turned his body silently around, his ears fully alert to track any movements but failed when he felt a single finger firmly hit him on the shoulder. Immediately after Sumi hit him on the shoulder, he felt his left arm quickly turn numb.
The next few attacks came in rapid series of touches, first on his neck, then his back, then on both his legs until he was rendered useless. All the while, Sumi hadnt even received a singleblow.
"You're a man that should never be forgiven. Betraying your friends, your village and betraying that girl's trust. Blinding Sakura with your godforsaken physical features and then using her as a way to gain power."
"I didn't ask for her help. She willingly offered it to me." Sasuke hissed. The young avenger comtemplated his current position. He was blind, the old lady was not. Sumi was alot more experienced while he did not. He had wasted last few moves carelessly and now his entire body was numb and in pain. Tsk, I've been a fool.
Outside the cabin, the pink haired kunoichi lifted a small hand softly on the wooden door. Her emerald eyes studied the lines of age of the door and ran her delicate fingers up and down in a continuous motion. Her mind was heavy with thoughts and her lips quivered with uncertainty. Sakura found it hard to move her feet, feelingtorn between two things: staying or leaving.
If I go in there to help him now,I would be going against all the thingsIve promised myself and believe in. IfI were to go in,I would be dragging Tsunade into her personal affairs. So, with eyes that held heavy tears and a heart that weighed heavily in her chest, Sakura turned so that her back faced the door. For once, I would be the one leaving you.
"Farewell." Sakura whispered as she gave one last look at the cabin door.
Beautiful yet sad tears slid down her face asshe jumped onto the nearby tree and began her way back home, Konoha.
It has been two months since her little journey to 'find herself'. When Tsunade asked her if she had succeeded in understanding herself, she had merely nodded and excuse herself quickly. The Hokage did not press on the subject.
Fortunately, no one asked her anything after that. Not even Naruto, possibly because he realized that there were things Sakura would tell him and things that she would forever keep secret.
"Naruto, what's the hurry?" Sakura called out, chasing the tall blonde.
Things were different now. She found herself gradually moving on, the name Sasuke remained hidden at the back of her mind. Occasionally, he would be brought up somehow in conversations that reminisced about the past, but eventually other things would bypass the topic. It was a lot easier to say his name out loud now. She used to have to force herself to remain unemotional but now she didn't even have to try. It became a habit, to dismiss his name when he is mentioned.
It was now spring, and Sakura came to enjoy the warm sun beaming down on her. The weather really did reflect her mood. Her mind was no longer perplexed nor was it sad with grief. She felt liberated, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Even when she breathed, it felt different.
"Sakura! Hurry up!" Naruto yelled at her as he eagerly moved through the crowd, heading towards the Hyuuga residence.
"What's the hurry anyway? We're only going to see Hinata…"Sakura couldn't help me tease.
The young and impatient blonde turned around, his cheeks slightly flushed.
"..Y-you know how the Hyuugas are, they hate tardiness." Naruto reasoned.
"Hinata isn't the type to…"
"Yeah but if I'm late, Neji-"
"Right."
They reached the Hyuuga house almost immediately after their last conversation and Sakura couldn't help but smile. She had traveled slowly on purpose and she had succeeded her goal. Naruto really liked Hinata. She had always been afraid that he was too dense to notice the shy Hyuuga heiress, but now it was confirmed.
"Hinata!" Naruto beamed as he rushed towards the dark haired young woman.
"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stammered and widened her eyes when she caught herself in bear hug.
"C'mon, lets get some ramen! I'm starving!" Naruto exclaimed with excitement, his left hand ruffling the back of his blonde hair.
"Seriously, rushing all this way to meet Hinata to go eat ramen?" Sakura smirked.
Naruto pretended that he had not heard her while Hinata blushed a deep shade of crimson.
"Hinata-sama." A low but distinct voice interrupted the small reunion and Sakura looked up to see a pale eyed ninja with chestnut hair.
"Neji-san." Neji looked at her briefly and nodded, acknowledging her presence and then turned to Hinata.
"Hinata-sama, should I accompany you?"
"Neji! She'll be fine, I'll be with her." Naruto said a-matter-a-factually.
"I doubt." The Hyuuga genius said indifferently.
"I'll be f-fine, Neji-kun. As for what to tell Hiashi-sama…" Hinata paused.
Neji raised an eyebrow.
"I…I'll tell Hiashi-sama you were with me." Hinata said quickly.
Neji stared at her with a blank expression while Naruto gawked at her sudden rebellious personality.
Sakura merely smiled a knowing smile. People should get used to the idea that people can change.
"Neji-san, let Hinata go. Would you like to train with me instead?" Sakura suggested.
Neji paused before hesitatingly agree to her proposal with a brief nod. Sakura eyed Hinata quickly and saw that the young woman was lit up with joy, her eyes twinkling with gratitude.
Once the raven and blonde couple left, Sakura turned to the silent genius with a small smile.
"Well, knowing you're probably busy anyway, I'll leave." Sakura said shortly, before bowing to him slightly and turning her back to him to start walking down the concrete stairs.
"Of course. Good afternoon then, Haruno-san." The Hyuuga replied coolly.
Sakura kept the smile frozen on her face; she did not want him to know she was surprised at his response. Making up an excuse for Hinata to go on a date, Sakura had no real intention to carry out the task in the first place. To her surprise, the Hyuuga had known this in advance and in turn did not act the least bit surprise when she announced her true intentions. Despite knowing that, he had let Hinata go. How obscure.
The sleepy, crimson sun lazily peeked her head over the horizon, preparing for yet another long summer day. The morning sky lit up instantly as the sun began its daily routine while the few clouds in the sky begin dispersing from the rough wind.
It was a windy day, suitable for training. The temperature was mild and there would be occasional breezes to cool her if needed.
Snapping her gears shut and stuffing her pouch with newly bought kunais and senbons, Sakura quickly left her little apartment.
When she got to her destination, Sakura looked around to observe the familiar training ground. No longer was it dense with trees and bushes. Instead, the trees were marked with marred cravings from her kunais and senbon practices. The grass around the area died off from years of being stamped upon by Sakura's taijutsu practices. The dirt ground was not smooth from erosion but filled with gaps and bumps that were caused by her very own fists.
She was fairly proud actually, of how the area turned out to be. It was she, who did all these markings. She was the one that sliced the thick tree trunk to fist-sized pieces, uneven the usually smooth ground, covered the ground with kunais that pinned endless leaves to the ground with utmost accuracy. Sakura did it all, and she was proud of it.
"Training?" A deep voice softly questioned her. He was right behind her, his breath brushing against her slightly bare neck. His body heat radiated onto hers as she drew in a slow breath.