Disclaimer: I don't own, kthxbai. I do own another plotbunny for another story, haha!
Chapter 12: Refracting
-X-
Re·frac·tion
–noun
1. Physics. the change of direction of a ray of light, sound, heat, or the like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave velocity is different.
-X-
Naruto breathed in much needed oxygen as his pink-haired sister went to stand before him in a protective manner.
"Sakura-chan," he choked. She nodded her head to let him know she was listening.
"Naruto, that is not Sasuke."
"...What?"
-X-
Gaara was an intelligent man. That was why he had to come to terms with the fact that this enemy was dangerous. Even more than that Akatsuki blond he fought once.
Tuning down his ears to avoid Juugo's mad screaming for blood, the red-haired Kazekage displayed a great deal of evading maneuvers, jumping and ducking at the exact time to see the tall Hebi member's fist or foot flying by him.
Gaara had a hunch about this fight.
-X-
Sakura's eyes went wide when he heard Sai's pained scream. A harsh shiver went down her spine when she couldn't feel his presence in the area.
"By Kami..." she whispered, hearing Naruto scrambling to his feet. His red chakra was scorching hot, but she did not care.
"What do you mean he isn't Sasuke?" he asked without preamble.
"Look underneath the underneath, Naruto," she merely responded, with a hollow tone. This prompted the blond ninja to watch the changes that were happening to his former best friend closely. Hands that posed as pointed wings, hair that grew in a grizzly style, face that darkened until the only color that was seen was the Sharingan red.
Sasuke's curse seal was in full view for everyone.
Naruto absently heard the audible gasp from Kakashi and the others, who didn't know about this abhorrence that the last Uchiha had brought upon himself. He wanted to close his eyes to the situation, but he knew he could not. He had to release--
"Sakura," he whispered with widened orange eyes, detailing a mad, golden glint on Sasuke's orbs. "Where is he?"
"Far inside him, Naruto... the only way to free him is... bringing him down."
"Stupid, selfish bastard!" Naruto snarled in pain and rage, understanding what she was implying. "I can't believe it!"
A gloved hand slid into his field of vision, stopping him, despite how burning the Kyuubi's cloak was for its marbled skin. Her eyes showed nothing but pain and determination.
"We need to do this, Naruto..." Sakura murmured, not paying attention to a tear that trailed down her cheek. "This is his last request."
The red energy fluctuated for a moment, then a nod of his head. "Tell me what to do."
"Beat his ass."
Both Konoha ninja split with a jump, one diving for the dark, winged monster and the other for the red-haired woman who was already making some seals.
-X-
Zabuza's former broadsword swung back and forward.
For the scrawny form that Suigetsu had, it was pretty amazing for the dark-haired former ROOT to see how easily his enemy handled that enormous weapon.
Sporting deep gashes but not even thinking what he was doing –so deep ingrained his ninpou was within his brain–, his hand holding the brush danced over the scroll, bringing three tigers forward. The beasts went immediately for his enemy, but the broad blade whistled again, slashing the felines and dripping black ink onto the ground.
"Aw, come on," the former Mist ninja said with fake disappointment in his tone. "Is that all you can do? This is getting rather boring. I want to trade places with Juugo now."
Sai did not answer, for a gigantic hawk sprang free from its parchment prison, taking him soaring towards the sky. Processing his enemy's earlier motions with the sword, Sai understood that he had to part him from the blade in order to defeat him. Better said than done, he concluded as he dived down, allowing Yamato to leap up unto the bird.
"I'll need your Mokuton to deliver the final blow," he explained succinctly. "I'll go with my hawk and divert his attention."
"That might be suicide, Sai," the brown-haired man reasoned. "His Suiton is impeccable. Your inked animals are not going to hold for long."
"I'm not made of ink, Yamato-taichou," he countered easily, surveying the battles that raged in the area. "I'll come up with something."
"I trust you, Shisei Sai," Tenzou nodded with a warm smile, as he dropped from the bird and landed smoothly on a tree branch, clasping his hands in the familiar wood-summoning position.
"Thank you."
Plunging down in a dash of breakneck speed, Sai unsheathed his short ninjatô, while scribbling another creature on his scroll. The snake unrolled from the masterful drawing and coiled around his own body, as the hawk's beak aimed for Suigetsu. The water-made shinobi made a show of mock-yawning before bringing the broadsword down on the hawk's neck.
Jumping above the pale man's head, Sai parried the blow with his own blade, as the inked snake shot forward his opponent and tried to restrain him within its grip. Sai's eyes went wide when the creature began to melt due to the moistness that made Suigetsu's skin shine.
"I told you, this is getting fucking boring," he said, gripping the sword's hilt once more and raising it savagely towards Sai's front. The blow sent him sailing backwards.
Suddenly, a sharp-pointed tree branch struck forward, nailing the silver-skinned man to a wooden wall that rose behind him. For once, his body didn't splash with water. The branch had hit a major point in his neck, drawing first blood in this particular battle.
"...Fuck," Suigetsu gurgled, eyes searching frantically for a spark of red and purple, until he took in the image of a certain pink-haired woman with green-glowing hands striking at her adversary.
He did not see a short ninjatô driving towards his neck in a slashing motion.
Evading surely wasn't his forte, Gaara recalled absently as Juugo managed to send him sailing towards a group of trees and smashing him. The man had strength compared to the Hokage's, he had to admit to himself as he finally decided that it was time to act out his strategy.
"Finally," he said sternly to a raging orange-haired maniac. "Do you want to know how he died? He pushed his limits for Orochimaru, but to what cause if he just didn't care about his illness. He wasted his life for nothing."
For a moment, nothing was heard but a pained scream from another battle.
"YOU'RE LYING, FUCKER!" Juugo bellowed. "THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
"Is it now?" the Kazekage asked coldly. "I wasn't the only one that watched him die for the sake of a man that left him for dead. He died regretting his association to the likes of that snake bastard. He died cursing his good heart."
The broken gourd was more than enough distraction for the cursed man, as it hit him in the face forcefully, shattering. The gourd shards soon melted into sand, effectively trapping the winged ninja. Gaara walked to him, jade eyes unwavering as trembling brown orbs snapped from side to side nervously.
"I can only hope that he is resting now," he murmured. "Away from his illness, away from the likes of him."
Juugo's eyes followed the finger that pointed at another winged form.
Like a child without his mother, the tall man started to cry, snapping his haunted spirit beyond repair.
"This is awful! I need to leave this place! This world! This has been nothing but painful! I HATE PAIN! I HATE HURTING PEOPLE!"
"I know. What are you going to do, Juugo?" the red-head's gentle tone startled him. "Maybe there is hope for you. Maybe you can overcome this curse."
Gaara's orbs froze in shock when the man scrambled for one of the kunai that littered the floor, among the bodies of the Sound nins and drove it into his own heart.
The Kazekage's brow creased in pity, as Temari landed next to him. He knew he was battered; his auburn clothes tattered and bloodied.
But when she asked him if he was okay, he closed his eyes and shook his head.
-X-
Neji's peripheral vision caught the moment behind his back when the Uchiha transformed into a winged creature and later on how the Kazekage witnessed the other monster committing seppuku.
This managed to distract him for a moment, opportunity that Kabuto took to drag his hands on his shoulder, the very same shoulder that sported the scar from his battle against that another Sound freak of nature Kidoumaru.
Hissing in pain, his hand shot forward, tapping two tenketsu closed near the elbows of said offending hands. Mentally counting his hits and cursing inwardly, Neji realized he was running out of time.
One of his hands was useless; that he knew perfectly from that fight a few days ago, when Sakura performed that very same technique on him. Gritting his teeth, he stood again to face the wicked medic-nin.
"And here I thought you'd had enough, Hyuuga-kun," he said offhandedly. "The chakra will render your body immobile and you'll stop being such a pain."
A sudden idea struck the silver-eyed ANBU Captain and he didn't waste any time in performing it. His three hundred and fifty degree range of vision noted when Sasuke's katana drove into a disguised Kawarimi, discovering one of Naruto's shadow clones.
Maybe he wasn't as skilled as his pink-haired lover in chakra control, but surely he could do this.
Blocking a twisted looking kunai and slashing it out of Kabuto's hand with his right hand, he drove it towards the male medic, taking him by surprise by leaping on him and pinning him to the ground on his stomach. Pale blue chakra descended along the blade into Kabuto's system, only enough to scramble his control.
Neji's palm struck down, starting the Hakke Hyaku Nijuha Sho with the special hundred-and-sixty-four blows.
Kabuto's shriek of rage was cut short when he pulled his ninjatô, plunging it on the medic's golden eye.
"There is a price to pay for everything you gain."
Those were Neji's soft, harsh words, as he assessed his final handiwork. If his Byakugan hadn't noticed the nervous tic of that golden, alien eye, he would've been the defeated one.
Finally, doing what he wanted to do since this whole mad scenario started, he directed his silvery gaze towards one pink-haired woman that was in that very moment running towards the dark figure formerly known as Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sakura! Nigero!" Kakashi's anxious voice rang clearly in the silence before a million chirps coming from her opponent's blazing hand encountered her chest.
"Sakura!" Neji shouted, as Naruto leapt forward with a howl of impending rage.
-X-
"You sure are a frigid bitch, aren't you?" Karin sneered, pushing back her glasses disdainfully. "That illusion was mild compared to others."
"I certainly underestimated you," Sakura shot back sarcastically, lifting a brow. "It won't happen again."
Karin's red snakes were everywhere, she noted. Good thing that she had no qualms to smash those things to pieces. She'd hated snakes since the day she witnessed Orochimaru biting Sasuke's neck in the Forest of Death.
Stomping her foot down enthusiastically, she cracked up the earthy ground and made Karin loose her balance. Dashing towards her, the pink-haired medic intertwined her fingers, molding her favored fighting style: her mentors'.
Shizune had a great deal of cool things to teach her and she shared the knowledge with gusto, for she knew that Sakura was the right person to master those secret techniques. The Senbon Rainwas one of those special gifts. As she developed the jutsu, Karin ran to her, claws ready to strike.
"I'm going to tear that pretty face of yours!" the redheaded female snarled, slashing through Sakura's face, only to poof away. Karin growled loudly when she realized that she'd gone against a shadow clone and whirled around, expecting to see her opponent behind her.
The pink-haired kunoichi smirked wickedly as she sailed down on the unsuspecting spectacled woman, all but whispering the name of the jutsu.
"Fukumikuchi Hari," she said, and metallic needles started to fall with deadly accuracy.
Karin got hit several times, but that didn't deter her from her hussy fit. "Bitch!" she hissed, calling out a chakra whip that Sakura barely avoided by ducking out of its way. "BITCH!" she raged, aiming true and striking the emerald-eyed woman viciously.
"Who's the bitch that crawls under that monster's feet?" she snarled back, retaliating by grabbing the chakra-made whip and yanking her adversary to her, only to send her back sailing with an energy-packed punch on the face that shattered her glasses.
"How dare y--" Karin spat a mouthful of blood as she tried to get all the glass shards off her face. "How dare you to bad-mouth Sasuke-kun?!"
"Well, I believe I have the right to do so because I have more history with him," she sneered furiously but ironically. "But as much as you want to believe it, you're not banging Sasuke, you dimwitted redheaded moron. That is not Uchiha Sasuke."
"Ha! You jest!" the other cackled without mirth. "That hair dye surely fried your brain, girl."
"Unlike you, I have better things to do than spend hours in front of the mirror, pining for an absent man who doesn't reciprocate," Sakura began making seals again, but was interrupted when Karin ran to her, both claws elongated enough to make anyone gasp. The pink-haired woman lowered her arms and closed her eyes, faking a sorrowful expression.
"So you realize he never wanted you?" the red-haired kunoichi cheered recklessly, only to have her chakra-laden nails stopped by a sudden wave of energy, as Sakura deflected the force of the blow and channeled it back to her in a roundhouse kick that made her opponent land near Sasuke.
"Oh, I know he never wanted me," she said out loud, walking up next to a red-charged Naruto. "But honestly? Who would want someone that is not... there," she finished, pointing to the winged horror that was the last Uchiha. "Someone who went for a broken man because he didn't have the balls to defeat his first target, Sasuke's older brother?"
"You talk pretty words, Sakura-chan," Sasuke's raspy voice all but sneered. "Is this how you repay Sasuke-kun for all the troubles he went through to protect you and that monster at your side?"
"Monster?" Sakura snorted unladylike, adjusting her gloves. "Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately, Orochimaru? You surely are a sight to behold! I deeply regret not having a Byakugan to see you more closely."
What happened next was kind of unexpected. Karin leapt to her feet screeching, trying to pierce Sasuke's former body in a fit of rage, but his hand shot to her neck, crushing it while forcing her to look at his eyes. The redhead's resulting scream was heard by the rest of the Allies, except one who was still concentrated on his own fight.
"I've had enough of your self-righteous speeches, mini-Tsunade. I wonder if you have hemophobia as well?" Orochimaru asked in a displeased tone, waving a dismissive hand. "Nonetheless, me being in this body was something that was bound to be. The Sharingan and my curse... truly, these are the most powerful weapon a mortal can wield."
"You are out of line, Orochimaru!" Naruto growled loudly. "How dare you to take my brother's body, you sick monster?"
"Again with that term!" the snake Sannin exclaimed with a laugh, flicking the Sharingan to his normal golden eyes back and forth. "I have taught Sasuke-kun many ways to kill a person. Flesh that burns and rots, bones that break and shatter... but to break a man's spirit is when you truly destroy him!"
Naruto went at him, his tails swinging wildly, while Sakura leapt high in the air to launch another barrage of senbons at the winged man.
Suddenly, Orochimaru bent his head, seemly distracted from the impending opponents.
"Stay out of my head!" he roared, clutching said part of his body. Naruto swung one of his tails at his feet, knocking him to the dirt violently.
"It's not your head, snake bastard!" he snarled, slashing at the prone body and scorching his skin at the contact with the Kyuubi cloak. "Get out of Sasuke's body! Get out!"
Orochimaru's Sharingan unfocused momentarily, as he gritted his teeth in anger. "You are still just a mortal, every bit as weak as the day you begged me to give you power!"
Naruto leaned back, confused. Sakura approached, hands glowing green. "Put down the cloak, Naruto."
He obeyed numbly, as they watched the Legendary Sannin writhing on the ground. Sakura healed Naruto's injuries, a hard frown upon her features.
"Sasuke is fighting him," she murmured. "But his soul won't come out. It won't, Naruto."
The blond closed his eyes, hurt written all over his face. "So..."
"I can--" Sakura started, her heart breaking at the sight of her brother in pain.
"No," he replied immediately, cutting her off. "I will."
The Uchiha's eyes flicked gold, red and black now. Sakura's hands changed their glow from warm green to hard, pale blue. Leaning over, she severed the muscles of his legs. Sasuke's body snarled in pain, as purple chakra started to gather in his hand.
Soon, birds started to chirp loudly. Naruto avoided the glow easily, but Sakura stood, stunned. How the hell can he stand? Inner Sakura questioned, horrified.
"Monster..." she whispered, letting the kunai she was gripping fall from her relaxed hands.
"You have no idea what a true monster is! Your final lesson is at hand!" Orochimaru roared, eyes blazing malevolent gold.
Sakura vaguely heard Kakashi's warning to run, to escape; but she was having none of it. Praying to Kami, she started to gather all the chakra she could into her chest, hoping to repeat the same action she did with Karin but at a bigger scale.
Chakra, she mused as she watched the Chidori shining with a purplish light, was a life energy, but everyone used it to kill each other. 'I want to change that', she decided, recalling Neji's defensive techniques.
The Chidori hit her chest and everything went silent. Only Naruto's raging howl and the loud whoosh of his Rasengan combined with the blow that was channeled from Sakura's enhanced fist did the trick.
Sasuke's body went down with a sick sound.
-X-
The pink-haired medic suddenly found herself in a pair of strong arms, while a deep voice kept calling her name. Groaning softly, she opened her eyes to encounter another set of anxious silver-colored orbs.
She smiled wanly when she felt the familiar trickle of chakra from her back flow into his hand.
"Sakura," he murmured, leaning his face to hers. "You worried me for a moment."
"Gomen," she breathed, as he leaned her forward to a sitting position, while she took in the sight in front of her. Naruto held Sasuke's body, as he cried silently. Wincing, she crawled from Neji's arms to her teammate and the fallen Uchiha, her face grim and full of sorrow.
"Sakura, Naruto," the raven-haired man whispered. Looking at him, she noticed that his eyes had gone back to their normal midnight black. "Thank you."
"You bastard!" the blond Hokage-to-be snapped angrily among his tears. "What are we going to do without you?! We spent so much time trying to save you!"
"I'm... beyond saving," he answered with a little smirk on his pale face. He was bleeding heavily.
"Sakura," Naruto's azure frantic eyes went to hers. "Heal him, please," he requested. "We can still bring you back, Sasuke-teme. We can still go back to how we were!"
She bit her lip as she dropped next to Sasuke.
"Don't you dare, dobe," he breathed, coughing up a mouthful of blood. "My time is up and you know it. Let me go, Sakura, Naruto. Please."
Naruto gasped at the Uchiha's plea. He had never heard him saying that magical word before.
"I need to go," Sasuke continued, feeling for Naruto's hand that clasped a kunai. "I don't know if he's gone."
"I can't, Sasuke," the blond said, shaking his head. "I can't do this to you."
Sakura stared at Naruto's and Sasuke's bloodied hands on the kunai and placed hers on them.
"I can't, either," she said with her eyes burning but full with hard resolve. "But maybe the three of us..."
Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. Sasuke smiled gratefully, looking at her shining emerald orbs.
"I'm sorry, Sakura."
"I know," she said, squeezing their joined hands. "I'm sorry, too."
"I hope he makes you happy, or I'll haunt his ass until he dies."
She smiled. "Baka."
"Aa," he accepted. "Naruto, Uchiha do not weep."
"I'm not an Uchiha!"
"Yes... you are."
The kunai plunged down, among Sakura's desperate wail and Naruto's cry of grief.
-X-
Going back to Konoha was not an easy matter.
After Sasuke's half death half suicide, Sakura and Naruto were in for another painful loss. Sai had fallen battling Suigetsu, but he managed to defeat him before bleeding to death, as a sad Yamato had relayed.
Sakura hid her face in her hands, washing her grief and Sai's calm face with her tears, while Naruto pounded the ground in a fit of frustration.
The victory was a bitter one, for those who had emotional ties with the fallen ones.
Naruto took it upon himself to carry Sasuke's body, while Yamato carried Sai's. Sakura was exhausted due to chakra overuse, but refused Kakashi's offer to give her a piggyback ride. The camp was silent, except for Naruto's mumbled curses and Hinata's sad sighs.
"This was bound to be," Sakura whispered, watching the fire that engulfed the battle site, consuming the corpses of team Hebi and the Sound shinobi. "After years of suffering, years of endless nightmares, it finally came to an end. Death was his escape from madness."
"This isn't how it was supposed to happen!" Naruto snarled at her, surprising the rest of the team. "He should be coming back alive!"
To everyone's surprise, it was Gaara who spoke. "Being released from darkness is more valuable than being granted a life devoid of rest."
Naruto fell silent and walked away.
Neji motioned Hinata to follow him, as he sat next to the pink-haired woman. Dried, hollowed eyes stared back at him when he offered his hand without a word.
Their connection told her how much he wanted to comfort her, and she panicked. Offering him a little, nervous smile, she rose and went to her sleeping bag.
Watching her retreating back, his thin brows knitted together in concern.
-X-
Everyone was admitted into the hospital for general check-ups. Sakura had collapsed due to exhaustion, but Neji had caught her smoothly before she started to fall.
True, her fear surprised him the previous night. Watching Sasuke die and how Sakura seemed to grieve for him took his feeling of jealousy down. Seeing a comrade's passing was not an easy sight, for even Hinata had cried bitter tears at witnessing Team Seven's misery.
Sakura retreated into a silent behavior, not talking to anyone, not even Kakashi when he offered to ease her worries with a gentle tone. This troubled the Hyuuga ANBU Captain more that he was willing to let on, for he felt how deep her distress and sorrow was.
The news of Sasuke's demise spread throughout the village like a fire in the middle of a dry forest. Everyone wanted to say something to Naruto and Sakura, but they drove them away. Only the Godaime Hokage knew how painful this situation was for them, hoping they could cope with the loss soon enough.
Gaara had gone back to Sunagakure with his sister when they'd reached a crossroad. The red-haired Kazekage had whispered some words to the blond ninja, who nodded numbly before shaking his proffered hand.
Behind them, a certain pink-haired medic didn't pay attention.
Two days after their return, someone told Tsunade about the sudden acceptance that the Hyuuga Clan had taken regarding Naruto as a formal suitor for their Heiress. She smiled wistfully, nodding at her informant.
"What about Sakura?" she had asked.
"She hasn't come out from her apartment yet," Kotetsu reported, lowering his voice. "Only Yamanaka Ino and Naruto have been allowed entry. However, Hyuuga Neji has been spotted surveying her apartment."
Tsunade furrowed her brows. "But I revoked the Hyuuga's protection order on her."
Kotetsu nodded. "According to Hinata-san, he is to be left alone, for his interest in Sakura's wellbeing is entirely personal."
Tsunade understood clearly. "Withdraw the surveillance on Sakura's apartment. She is going to be alright."
-X-
Sakura knew he was outside, watching at her window from the street.
But for the life of her, she just didn't know why she'd backpedaled so suddenly at his open display of concern. True, they indeed had a certain liaison that was better more satisfactory. His intense eyes and his muted support when she needed it the most were blessings for her scarred heart.
But remembering Sasuke's words made her realize how wrong she had been. The Uchiha had turned on a hundred-watt lamp on some hidden feelings she was desperately trying to squash under all her thoughts of independence and assertive teachings.
Sakura wasn't sure of his true intentions. He had been nothing but a gentleman with her; even in the heat of passion Neji had placed her pleasure before his own. He had listened to her stories attentively, and tried to rebuke some of her sayings with a good-natured banter that kept her brain working. He never wronged her, nor did he try to belittle her, not even a single time, not even in anger. He seemed to respect her greatly.
Why, then, was she so scared to come to terms with these feelings she didn't want to analyze just because of sheer cowardice?
Shut up, she whined at her mental roommate when she called her a coward. Burying herself in her couch cushions, she tried to think about the scroll that Naruto had given her, but when he said it was from Sasuke, she merely placed it on the coffee table, not even looking at it twice.
But now her eyes seemed to stray at the neatly wrapped piece of rolled parchment. Sighing heavily, she sat up and grabbed it, unrolling it.
Her eyes widened with every word.
Then, she started to cry.
-X-
Neji sighed heavily. His vigil on Sakura's apartment took a toll on his nerves as he perceived her feelings quite clearly. She was in turmoil, but he didn't dare try reassuring her through their connection by fear of her clamming up shut again.
Hinata had entered his room that morning, telling him a story about the legal matters of the now completely deceased Uchiha Clan. By having new heirs –even if they weren't related by blood–, the Clan Council had to acknowledge the former members of Team Seven as the legitimate owners of what had been rampaged –to put it bluntly– by some villagers and even members of his own Clan.
He let out a darkly amused snort at the thought of his uptight relative Hyuuga Hideki having to refund his very own political nemesis to make them up for the newly approved Law of Heritage.
"What's so funny?" a female voice asked, startling him. Wide white-snow eyes met shy emerald ones, and he suddenly felt better.
She had finally come out of her shell.
"Hideki, he is quite hilarious," he explained softly. Her little smile told him she had understood the karmic sarcasm that now turned the tables and placed the old manipulative Hyuuga Councilman into little but certainly strong, feminine hands.
"Neji... I..." she hesitated. Feeling her sudden fright, he nodded, offering her a tiny smile.
"Allow me to invite you for tea," he murmured, trying to convey his sudden urge to encase her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Her abrupt blush told him she had picked up his feelings quite accurately through her connection. He sighed uncomfortably.
"Tea might be a suitable option, yes," she whispered, taking in how his tall and lean form seemed so ridiculously out of place sitting on the front stairs of her apartment building. "Let me get my coat."
And so they walked side by side to the nearest tea shop, the uncomfortable silence melting into a complete companionable one; his tall figure seemed to tower over her, but he seemed to radiate calmness upon her, making her feel safe at his side.
Their tea session was actually quite relaxing, as he had concluded when he walked her home. Their conversation was mostly concerning the news about the Uchiha properties and how bad Hideki had taken Uchiha Sasuke's last will coming out to the light from one of the most renowned legal advisors of the village. Standing in those same steps he had sat a while ago, his eyes sought hers as the day disappeared completely from the sky, lanterns providing the usual light for the streets of Konohagakure no Sato.
"So..." she trailed off with a soft smile. "I guess I'll see you around?"
"I'm afraid I can't," he replied with a dejected frown. "I have a mission tomorrow with my former team."
Her eyes blinked, pupils suddenly shrinking in surprise and a hint of fear – fear for his wellbeing.
"Oh... and where you'll go?"
"Lee has been entrusted to carry a message for the Kazekage," he explained, stating the rank of this particular task with his words. "Gai said it was a good opportunity to catch up with our lives since the mission to Sound. And I have to remark that I did not think that was as funny as he alleged, but Lee and Tenten insisted on having my company."
Her smile was more than relieved. "It's good, then... I bet three to one that Lee-san doesn't know he is carrying an invitation for the upcoming appointment of Naruto as Rokudaime Hokage."
"You know, it is not wise to bet against a Hyuuga, as you might know by now," he shot back with an amused smirk.
"I'm quite aware of that, thank you very much," she replied with ease, crinkling her eyes when her smile widened. "But I think Lee-san doesn't know about this or he would have yelled it throughout the village by sunset."
He chuckled, stopping momentarily to activate his Byakugan and deactivate it to lift an eyebrow. "Point taken, but you see... I think you just lost spectacularly, again."
True to his words, Lee rushed by her building, screaming something about how the blond ninja was the owner of a thousand springs of youth. Sakura bent over laughing at the hilarious imagery, as Lee promptly was decked by the very same Hokage-to-be, who appeared out of nowhere to subdue the loud green-clad shinobi.
"Konoha will never be the same when that idiot dons the red robes," Neji commented, as they saw Naruto waving at them before throwing Lee unto his back like a sack of potatoes and walking away with a smug whistle.
"Yeah, I agree... his journey begins here."
The silver-eyed ANBU Captain grunted, as he turned back to watch her. Her smile faltered a little when she encountered those intense, silvery orbs fixed on hers.
"Sakura," he murmured, seeing her blushing at how smooth her name sounded in his deep voice. "I cannot ask you to wait for me... but I would be most pleased if you do."
There it was, her panic started to rise again. Without missing a beat, he leaned in, brushing her lips with his.
"I also would be most pleased if you trusted me," he continued, letting his feelings do the talk as he poured part of them through their sealed connection. "My best guess is that we can carry on a better relationship if we learn to listen and see each other."
Her eyes shone with unshed tears, face full with emotion.
"I know that I wouldn't be saying this at such short notice of your grieving period, but I found that I just could wait no more. Especially if I will be gone tomorrow."
"Hai," she whispered, sliding her hands on his chest. "I'll wait for you... to come back to me. But I'll have you know, I'm not a good person in the mornings."
He smirked mischievously before extending a hand to the apartment door and pushing it open, while his other hand was placed in his favorite place: her seal.
"It seems I will need to see that for myself... but I am certain that a treat of plum jam can do wonders for foul moods, if I recall correctly."
-XxX-
Yosh! It's finally over! –grins proudly– Well, except for a little epilogue that my dearest Celtic Oak requested for this story. It is citrus-flavored I'll have you know, so you tell me if it's okay to post the full version here.
Greetings to everyone, thank you so much for your support to this story and much love to Celtic Oak for her awesome beta work!