Soul or Soulless

Chapter 3 – An Independent Sakura

Sorry if it took so long, but finally, chapter 3 is out... the real chapter 3 that is.

If you don't know, originally I wrote five chapters in total, but the reason for what makes it three chapters is simple; first of all, when I just started releasing chapters on DeviantArt, I submitted three chapters at first, but then I realised that the first and second chapter of my story had such bad grammar and was irrelevant to the plot, I redid chapter 1, but made it short enough for me to squeeze in anything that I was fine with in chapter 2 into one who chapter. So that made two whole chapters in the end, with the exclusion of the mediocre first two chapters. And here we are with chapter 3. So... it's not as if I slacked off as much as you think.

And I'm sorry to say this, but Hinata won't be appearing in this chapter. To make things fair, I have to add in a lot of character development for some characters. So please enjoy anyway. Thank you.

(Flashback continued)

Sakura stared at the blackened wall, wondering whether or not the former Cloud ninja was the cause of the apparently overcooked vertical structure. But she wasn't just going to stand in the same spot considering the option, knowing that by doing so the intruder had the advantage of escaping.

She took off, jumping from roof to roof, attempting to locate the prowling shinobi. From what she had heard from him, before he realised that he was under the watchful eye of the pink haired girl, it sounded like he was part of some group, who were planning something that had to do with someone they're targeting in the Leaf Village.

Problem was she had no clue as to who the teenaged rogue ninja was after. And she couldn't think of what they would want with this 'anonymous victim'. If it were an assassination attempt, the one attempting it had no elimination skills as far as she had seen. The ones pulling the strings couldn't be stupid enough to send someone who had no clue how to avoid being marked as an intruder.

Sakura recalled something else he said, as she dropped down into the street that wasn't a great distance from the main gate, which led out of the village.

She remembered the young rogue ninja saying that it may have been a mistake to come here, and that he just couldn't wait any longer. This told her that he must have came here of his own free will. The young Kunoichi had the idea that this was partially personal for the boy, but she couldn't verify the possibility, unless if she confronted him personally, so she could interrogate him.

Sakura quickly returned to her search, cursing herself for wasting time on something that can wait.

'Damn it, for all I know, he could've left the village by now,' she thought angrily. 'Maybe I should alert Lady Tsunade. She could send out multiple search teams in and out of the village-,' Sakura's thoughts were cut short, as her eyes moved across the sky. Many grey clouds were gathering on the same day where hot air currents rose rapidly. The dark clouds that started to envelop each other had cast a shadow over the entire Leaf Village. Pretty soon, thunder began to bellow slightly over the Fire country, raindrops falling afterwards.

"Great, rain, that's just what I need right now," she said with a sarcastic voice.

The young medic was about to start her course to the Hokage Tower, but as soon as she saw what was left of a glimmer reflected off a kunai knife that was zooming towards her head, she dodged it immediately. Then - on instinct – she dashed towards the individual who flung it in the first place; she spotted the young rogue ninja she discovered near the Hyuuga district, hanging upside down from the downside of a balcony.

Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, and that the lightning was directly above the Hidden Leaf Village, the former Cloud Shinobi felt a sense of excitement, which seemed obvious to Sakura, as she saw that his mischievous smile was spreading gradually. This confused her, but only for an instant.

Sakura hastily leaped into the air, soaring towards the overturned boy. She brought chakra into her right fist, causing an enhancement in the strength of her coming attack.

"Take this! HELL YEAH!" she bellowed just as she swung her fist towards the enemy.

However, just when the blow to boys face was only just a second away, he immediately flipped off the under-side of the balcony; passing under the Kunoichi's violent form and landing gracefully.

Being caught off guard, Sakura's chakra enhanced fist smashed into the structure below the balcony, 'causing part of the building to crumble.

After avoiding the debris that fell, the pink haired girl looked back to the rogue ninja, smirking like he was well satisfied with the whole situation, which really seemed to infuriate her.

"..., that's some pretty good agility you have. So, is there more to you than meets the eye?" she asked without much emotion in her voice, getting more serious about her self-appointed mission. She got into her basic Taijutsu stance, whilst remembering that she should've been heading towards the Hokages office by now. But from the looks of things, that course of action was sure to be delayed. She could only hope that the commotion would attract other ninja, and that she would avoid doing any permanent damage to her opponent (A/N – that is... if she can do any damage). It was very important for the intruder to be interrogated, so as to know what his plans were, and who his allies and possibly his superiors were.

"What are you getting at?" the former Cloud ninja asked gruffly, the rain matching his expression of resentment. From Sakura's point of view, the hair was covering his eyes, giving him a shady look. "Am I not scary enough to be seen as a danger to my opponent? I suppose I did make a bad first impression... but my first impression in battle...," he raised his head higher, his sinister looking eyes becoming more visible, "... will surely be your physical nightmare."

Sakura tensed up, noticing the sincerity in his voice.

"We'll see," she said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. As she noticed the boy getting into an unfamiliar stance, she realised that it would be hard to read his movements.

She watched carefully, waiting for him to strike first. She wanted to risk getting hit if she couldn't dodge the coming attack, so she could possibly predict some of his movements after enduring what was unknown for now.

After a few seconds, the tension was cut when the rogue ninja lunged at her, throwing his fist towards her abdomen. He had just appeared right in front of her, catching her off guard. The fist collided with the Kunoichi's stomach.

It was as though time had stopped as soon as he touched her; her eyes widened as the pain shot through all around her abdomen. The air in her lungs had left. She wasn't sure if that was due to the actual damage he had inflicted upon her, or from the complete shock of what speed and strength he kept bottled up, until now.

As a finisher, he had sent her flying several feet away, with herself continuously crashing into the ground before rolling to a halt.

She was close to unconsciousness. Her vision was getting blurry, as she felt weakened after receiving a full on blow. The young woman could only take short, shallow breaths, trying to regain oxygen she had lost.

It also felt as though the enemy's punch had reached all the way to the surface of her spine, making it painful to move any part of her back.

The pink haired medical ninja struggled to stand on her feet, but pain was slowing her down. The best she did was stand on her trembling legs, only to succumb to her injuries, dropping down on one knee.

Sakura made eye contact with the bronze eyed ninja, giving him the sternest look she could muster. She tried to retort, attempting to overcome his arrogance. But her voice cracked, getting her into a state of coughing up blood. After a few short minutes of spewing up the red liquid, she looked back up at the rogue, breathing heavily.

He was grinning wickedly, finding his skills very effective. He watched as the girls blood seeped into the wet soil.

"You should know," he spoke calmly, folding his arms, "I specialize in a remarkable taijutsu style, which in turn rewarded me with amazing strength and speed." As he said this, he slipped off his light jacket and tied it around his waist. It was revealed that he was quite muscular looking. "But even as I only used my strength to take you down, I never had to show you what actually makes my combat style so special."

The boy strolled over nonchalantly towards the pink haired Kunoichi, obviously having no fear in being struck down if the girl managed to rise up. Grabbing Sakura by the hair, 'causing her winced, he looked into eyes, seeing if she was ready to break. Though seeing a hint of sadness in the pair of emeralds just made him feel a bit guilty for manhandling her. He could've just knocked her out quickly, but on selfish impulse, he chose to give her a good beating. For a second, the young rogue ninja frowned at his conceited actions, but he shook off this feeling of remorse, knowing full well that it could be his downfall. He went on to what he was about to say, releasing his grip on the pink hair.

"So... I feel kinda sorry for you, not having any talent or skill to stand to up to a guy like me... but I'll let you live anyway, but only because...," the former Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Clouds leaned in to whisper into Sakura's left ear, 'causing her eyes to widen, "... I pity those... who are dependent, even when they can't handle the pain that's inflicted upon them."

Almost entirely, Sakura froze at these words, and her entire world seemed to as well; she had pictured the day when Sasuke had left her and her team. How her heart ached as she was forced to put up with the events of that time of date, only to fail and fall apart in front of the one she came to love.

In fact she had liked to believe that maybe she could've made things right again, after what happened between her love and her self-appointed brother; the two boys fought bitterly, by request of the bitter Uchiha, on the rooftop of the hospital he was staying at, after he was beaten miserably by his older brother, Itachi. The quarrel that she had witnessed between the two didn't make their relationship look anything like a friendly rivalry; she remembered the hate and anger in Sasuke Uchiha's eyes as he battled the blonde. The way he seemed tempted in destroying his best friend, all for the sake of figuring out whether he was stronger or not, made her feel that the whole of Team 7's friendship was just a sham, becoming visible to her due to her two teammates raging conflict.

The pink haired Kunoichi recalled herself trying to stop said match, struggling to believe that the bond that developed between herself, Naruto and Sasuke was genuine. She wanted to believe that Team 7 had become more than a group of Shinobi led by a famous Jounin of the Leaf. She could not accept herself being part of a group where one individual compared their skills with the other. For comrades to go up against each other, with no remorse whatsoever, made the progress of their growing friendship seem worthless.

The girl was lucky that her sensei had intervened; otherwise it would've been likely for her to get caught in the attack. However, afterwards the Uchiha boy had become very distant with the others, rejecting any help that was offered to him. At that time, she couldn't fully understand why, but the anger that was displayed in Sasuke's fight against Naruto broke her heart. It felt like the hate radiating off the Uchiha boy was pushing her towards a cold, dark and lonely area, apparently having the impression that it was less frightening and safe to stay in a sanctuary that's void of the one you care for the most, even though the bold warriors attitude was what brought her there in the first place. She feared that by interacting with him, she would insincerely push him over the edge, resulting in him hating her for being more annoying than he already believed.

As a means to know what her conscience was asking of her, she needed the blonde haired Shinobi, knowing in her heart that out of her teammates, Naruto was the last one she'd expect to give up on a bond for a test of superiority, unlike the Sharingan wielder.

But even after accompanying the blonde at his favourite ramen shop, apparently making it seem like a normal date, it did not change the way she felt. She had thought that with Naruto's ability to brighten up the day, the weight on her shoulders would ease. But instead, being with the hyper-active blonde only changed her uncertainty of Sasuke's feelings to more of an understanding of what might have been going on in his head.

This had made her weep a lot whenever no-one was around. And whenever she had met up with Sasuke near the village exit, with him carrying a backpack that hung from his shoulder, a part of her wanted to run home and wrap a blanket around her body, as she could feel a dark, angry aura coming from the love of her life.

However, when she remembered that there was a possibility that Sasuke would abandon Konoha to seek out Orochimaru for power, this got her thinking; she was perhaps one of few who could probably prevent him from leaving. So the pink haired Kunoichi swallowed her fear, and confronted him.

She did everything she could to stop the Uchiha boy, until it came down to declaring her love to him. However, feeling no change in the dark atmosphere around him, she started panicked, letting the tears fall from her eyes. The fear that she thought she had swallowed, was really stuck in her throat. The thought of not being with him was slowly eating away at her. Desperate to stop the unbearable pain she felt in her heart, she even offered to join him on his quest for power and to even help with his revenge, just so she could be by his side.

As she recalled these past events, herself today - who appeared to be staring into nothingness with a petrified expression, while lying flat on wet earth – cursed her foolishness, thinking of how selfish she acted. However, being disgusted with herself did not compare to how she felt when she remembered everything that happened after the offer she had made with the Uchiha.

The medical ninja reminisced what Sasuke's response was; he called her annoying and just proceeded with the procedure of abandoning, not only the village he grew up in, but everyone who cared for him.

That day, she wanted to scream and let all of her sadness out. She had even threatened the soon to be fugitive, right before he knocked her out.

When she awoke the following morning, she found only Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, but no Sasuke Uchiha. She had succumbed to the pain in her heart and wailed out to the world. She did not care for her image or how embarrassing it was to cry in front of two ninja's who were oblivious to all that has happened to her.

Though after the young Kunoichi settled down enough so that she could speak with an audible tone, she warned the duo that the once reliable Uchiha had left the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Hokage was informed immediately after they were told; a group of Genin, led by the recently promoted Shikamaru, were sent out to retrieve the Uchiha. The group consisted of many of her male comrades, including the number one hyper-active knuckle head ninja.

This is where present student of the 5th Hokage hated herself, as she recalled the 'once in a lifetime request she made with the blonde'.

At the main gate, where Naruto and the others were about to set off, Sakura had stopped them. She had made her most desperate attempt to cleanse her heart; she placed the burden of bringing back her love onto Naruto, even if it took him an eternity. During that time, all she wanted was absolute relief from all her suffering; she wanted to have faith, rather than continue to undergo the heartache she felt.

She couldn't handle her own pain, so she eased the pain by replacing it with faith; faith that the blonde that she came to know as a little brother would somehow bring Sasuke back.

However, even though the blonde haired Jinchuriki accepted this request, he was also accepting the major pain of rejection and hardship; Sasuke had severed his bond with Naruto, throwing away his friendship. Yet Naruto has kept his promise to the pink haired girl, but he is also taking the mental suffering that she herself should've endured. But sadly, she felt so weak in all aspects of life to even try.

Was bringing back the lost member of Team 7 worth taking the risk hurting someone else who's important to her?

Lastly she saw just how hard he tried to bring the Uchiha, from when he first attempted to retrieve him, to the point where he was grief stricken to just miss him on the last retrieval mission. In fact, all this time Naruto has faced so much difficulty, all for her sake. All for her sake.

Finally, her vision was set on what was in front of her; the main gates, which was also the same place she had the 'nerve' to ask her own teammate if he would fill in for her job to gain Sasuke's trust again.

Rain was still falling from the sky and she was still on the ground, not caring for the blow she took to the stomach anymore.

'What have I been doing all this time,' she thought with remorse. 'All this time... all I did was cry over losing Sasuke, but I barely did anything about it. I never took full responsibility for what I want, because I felt weak... too scared that I might fail in bringing him back, or fail to change his ideals.'

Imagining a young Naruto standing near the main gates before her, she cringed when she pictured him giving her the thumbs up; the demeanour that he had displayed seemed quite fake, even when he had given her his trademark grin. He seemed almost sad, yet determined to bring the Uchiha home for her. But where did that lead him?

'I've seen and heard of all the things Naruto has done, just to get even a glimpse of Sasuke. I realise now, all the pain he's going through now, was because of me! I selfishly made him promise to bring Sasuke home, but through process he's taking all the hurt that should've been my hurt.'

As her thoughts of the blonde haired ninja, walking through the main gates, were replaced with what was happening in reality, she saw instead the rogue Cloud ninja walking through the main gates, who had already had already knocked out the two gate keepers. It was very unshinobi-like her, but she had almost completely forgotten about the enemy.

"That guy," Sakura grunted in pain, glaring at the former Cloud ninja like she was trying to make his head explode using only her mind. She struggled to stand on her knees, seething between breaths. Finally on her knees, she attempted to stand on her feet, which was a much harder task for her.

"H-he really d-did a number on m-me. I'm not sure if I have enough f-fight left in me. And he's n-not even tired, so the odds are a-against m-me."

She was pretty much winded, 'causing the stutter in her voice. She was hoping that her fellow Shinobi would come to aid her. And if that wasn't possible, then surely Naruto would... right?

But something occurred to her; wishing for Naruto to come help her in this situation was an example of her weakness; she was refusing to manage the trouble she was in, and she was passing it onto Naruto, practically using him as a shield that could very well get battered and beaten.

As she looked down at her knees, she was on the verge of tears. But with newfound strength, she shakily began to rise to her feet, ignoring the pain in her abdomen.

"I... I can't keep r-relying on h-him," she stammered. Seemingly standing up straight, she placed her palm over her stomach and used a healing jutsu, matching the amount of chakra with the severity of her injury. However she didn't have that long to heal; the former Cloud Nin was gradually heading his way to freedom and she couldn't risk losing track of him. "I'm a Kunoichi of t-the Leaf Village, t-taught by one of the three l-legendary Sannin! I am not so badly in distress that I should use the p-people I care about for my own personal gain!"

The Kumo Nin had suddenly stopped in his tracks. Apparently, from his point of view, the pink haired girl had shouted loud enough for him to hear. He spun around to see that the young woman was back on her feet. His eyes widened, but not from the shock of seeing his opponent undefeated.

"You can't be serious!" he shouted over to Sakura. "How can someone like you be an apprentice of one of the three legendary Sannin? You could barely last two seconds against-," he stopped near the end of his sentence, noticing that the girl was using a healing jutsu. A thought crossed his mind, but he decided to ask, "You're not a student of... hmm, what was it? Tsunade the 'Slug Queen'?"

While the boy was in deep thought, tapping his chin, Sakura put her healing process on hold. She went through a series of stretches, testing to see if her body was in good condition to fight; she felt her stomach twinge and her back was aching a bit, but the results were passable.

Sakura looked up at the rogue, giving him a menacing expression. Her fists tightened as she focused the precise amount of chakra into them. With chakra enhanced strength, she charged towards the currently anonymous ninja.

Realising that he hadn't actually taken the girl down completely, the former Kumo nin had no choice but to resume the fight. As he dashed towards his surprisingly tough advisory, he raised his fist in the same way he did earlier.

Right before either of the two made contact, Sakura predicted where his punch would land.

'If I'm not able to match his speed, it's a sure win for him,' she thought worriedly. She then focused her chakra into her feet, giving her an extra boost of speed, rather than strength.

The pink haired Kunoichi was able to evade getting another punch to her stomach, but as soon as the mysterious boy noticed this, he directed his fist towards her own, knowing that it was the only way out.

Both fists collided with each other, creating a shockwave that blew a great deal of debris away. Feeling the tremor, the two of them struggled to keep themselves from doubling over. They each felt an uncomfortable vibration going through their arms, but their pride made them ignorant.

They both stood in the rain for at least a full minute, with their throbbing knuckles pressed against each other. For their own reasons, a small smirk escaped both their lips.

'Yes, I can defend myself, so I don't need to fully rely on others,' Sakura thought, a lot more strong-minded than before.

'I wonder, did I bring out this girls hidden strength without the means to?' the former Cloud ninja asked himself. He jumped back, landing a few feet away from the pink haired girl. He examined his now bruised knuckles. He felt the soreness of them ease tenderly, which gave him a sense of relief.

"So...," he began, looking back up at the Leaf Kunoichi, with more interest, "... I guess it was no lie, huh? I heard from my... superiors, that the current Hokage of the Leaf Village is 'The Slug princess', Tsunade, also known as one of the three legendary Sannin. Funny, no-one had mentioned to me that she possessed a student."

"Well, what you see is what you get," Sakura stated firmly, rubbing the back of her hand. "I'm her second student, Sakura Haruno."

"Haruno?" he uttered, bewildered.

"That's right… I was taken in when I requested to be trained in the art of medical ninjutsu."

"She openly accepted you? I find that hard to believe. From my perspective, you don't look like you could have been half the ninja you are now."

"You're probably right," her eyes narrowed, thinking back on events where she just stood on the sidelines, finding herself completely useless. "There was once a Genin, who used to be someone who would just watch in fear as her comrades did all the brutal work. The reasons why she requested to become the student of the 5th Hokage was obvious; she was so sick of being a burden and not being able to do anything for her friends. She always had others there to protect her, like it was her who always came first, like she was number one. But then she asked the most reliable Kunoichi she knew to train her in the art of medical ninjutsu. All she wanted was to, in time, correct her mistakes, by protecting herself and her comrades with precision... and repair any damage done, so she could walk out of a fight as a liberator of the populace and her companions, who's not the worst scum in the world." Kakashi's face came to her mind for an instant. She smiled for being a student to some of the greatest teachers this has ever known. Sakura gave the boy a look of pure determination, getting into a fighting stance. "That girl became Sakura Haruno, the Kunoichi that stands before you now."

The young rogue ninja stood motionless near the entrance, staring face down at the ground, most likely. She couldn't really tell, as his wet hair was draped over his eyes, giving him a shady sort of look.

After what felt like a minute, the boy lifted his head, unveiling his enthusiastic laughter, squinting to avoid getting any rain in his eyes. This almost threw the young Kunoichi off, but instead it angered her, assuming that the intruder thought that what she stated was nothing but nonsense spouted from someone who was thought to be all talk. But that thought changed after his laughter stop. His wide, quivering grin was replaced with a tranquil smirk. To her eyes, his eyes seemed to change as well when they opened. She could see that his source of vision was filled with... relief and happiness.

"I am so glad to hear that," he muttered, only loud enough for her to hear what he was saying. But ironically, she couldn't understand what he was saying, until he spoke again with a little more audibility. "From where I only just recently departed from, I knew some of the most powerful and dedicated Shinobi in our history. To them, when it came to choosing between their wants and their dedication towards their comrades, the latter is usually the first alternative. Sure there was a time when some of our own put their needs before their honour as a ninja who can make something of his/herself, but once a person's true need is recognized, it's a brilliant chance to set the healthier outcome of everything and everyone. People who are blinded by their needs have yet to see what they truly need without any regrets for what they're searching for. You have to try your hardest not to let anybody get hurt just for your own sake and your own wishes. A ninja who doesn't care for where their path would lead their comrades isn't worthy to call themselves a dependable warrior."

"But... are you so reliable, so as to not leave anyone in the dirt for your benefit?" Sakura asked gruffly, obviously not forgetting that he did have a purpose for infiltrating the Leaf Village. "I mean, I can't fathom your exact reasons for being here, but I still can't trust you; you're attempting to capture something or someone under our noses. If that's true, then I can't be certain that this plan of yours won't pass-by without any sacrifices to our village. Or do our comrades not matter?"

The young rogue ninja looked up at the dark sky, somehow confident that none of the raindrops falling would reach his wondering eyes. It looked as though he was searching for something, but really he was just reminiscing.

"When I left the Village Hidden in the Clouds, I encountered many powerful enemies in a surprisingly short amount of time," he said serenely. "I don't know if it was by coincidence that I came across foes from neighbouring villages, but I have this strange impression that their selfish acts, displayed right before my eyes in the heat of battle, helped me face what could have been reality; ninja's outside of Kumo, who are completely dependable, are just too rare. I've seen Shinobi who have never taken things into consideration when they go for a common goal. So... it's getting increasingly hard for me to believe that there are still some dedicated Shinobi villages that have those with a sense of honour and safe dreams for the future. Though I have fought more ninja's from certain nations, they all sacrificed with little regret. So for a while, I've been finding it hard actually feel regret for the things I'm forced to do to an opponent who don't care for what happens to their comrades."

"You're right," Sakura said with certainty, thinking back on many events that happened during her time as a Kunoichi. "There are so many rotten people out there, trying to steal away what they think that's important to them, without giving a damn for the people they are hurting." Many familiar faces started to pop into Sakura's head; many who would've given their lives for the people they care about, and take nothing in return, even as they live after they're noble, good deeds. "But I've met some of the most amazing people, from here to across the globe. You have to understand, at least so many Shinobi have lives that are worth living and friends that are worth everything." Sakura began to spread both her legs, turning up the wet dirt as her fighting stance was formed. A smirk was now spread across her face. "So... if you're intentions do happen to lead to the downfall of innocent people, then I must try my best to be as great and as reliable as those I look up to."

The boy's devious grin returned. He too was in his fighting stance, and ready to prove or be proved.

"If you can prove to me that you're as devoted to your village as you say you are, and if it's true that nearly every Shinobi are the same, then maybe I can be a bit more considerate for happens to a village and its people," as he said this, his started to narrow, giving him more of a serious expression. "But either way, there's going to be sacrifices sooner or later. I'm sorry, but I absolutely need to try my best to capture the main target, once we properly formulate a plan. I came here out of arrogance, so in order to undo my mistake, the first thing I need to do is defeat you." A look of determination was formed, with him giving the pink haired Kunoichi a toothy grin. "See, I'm not so dumb when don't have to be. And you're not so weak with that resolve I see deep in your eyes. That's something else I like to see in a ninja. So you better be prepared for the fight of your life, 'cause eventually, I wouldn't go easy on people like you."

TBC

Disclaimer: "Naruto" and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I claim no ownership. I do claim ownership to this story and any original characters created for it.