The Bound and Forgotten

As men are not able to fight against death, misery, ignorance, they have taken it into their heads, in order to be happy, not to think of them at all. -Blaise Pascal

Previous Chapter

"NOOOOO! PLEASEEEE! DON'T DO THI—" Slice. Slice. Slice. Blood, it was everywhere. "… run… get out of here -cough-, before they find you, please… my dear…"

I don't understand. Why do I always have this, this… This what? It's not a memory, it couldn't be. So what is it I am seeing? This women, she felt dear to me, but who was she? Did something happen to her? I just don't understand it, I can't comprehend. I just wish I understood, what was happening to me?

Dull. Everything is just so dull. Nothing seems to be fun anymore, and now to think about it, I can't remember a time when something existed that was fun in my eyes. Like I said, it's all so dull. I see no fun in waking up at 4:00 am to go to meet up with my lousy ass team. Yes, I may get a small amount of entertainment out of my teammates fooling around and being idiotic fools, but how long will that really last? And it is definitely not something I am willing to wake up so extremely early for. It's just troublesome, as would say one of my rivals from the academy.

Kakashi (who I am having an issue with calling him my sensei, due to his childish attitude and ignorant outlook), decided it would be a great idea to make us wake up so goddamn early just so we could go train. Though, through the three days we have been a team, I knew he wouldn't be there on time. And, damn me if I almost forgot, he told us to skip breakfast… No seriously, he told us not to eat… What an idiot! Of course I am going to eat; I don't really even care if he kicks me off the team because of it (which I would gladly accept as a humble gift). All I know is, if we were in a time of war, or we got ambushed by enemy ninja, we should be fighting on a full and content stomach and NOT on an empty one.

So I woke at 4:30, got myself something to eat, and decided to leave my house around 5:15. It should only take me 5 minutes at most to reach the meeting area.

As I exited my house, I looked around at the surroundings. The sky was still pretty dull, ha. Just like everything else about this damned town. The streets were quiet and there were no civilians in sight, just the sparse amount of jounins or ANBUs, either returning or leaving for a mission. I decide to take my time to reach the meeting grounds and take the longer route. There was always this nice little area I loved to walk through if I had to go anywhere in the direction of the training grounds. The flowers and trees were always in bloom in this area, and it was just a beautiful scene.

Walking down the small street which was filled with beautiful shades and colors, flowers and trees, I spotted an inconsistency. There was this small patch of flowers missing, but it wasn't as if someone just pulled a bunch of flowers, it was as if somebody had stomped all over it, destroying everything in their path. Oh was I angry, how dare someone destroy something so beautiful, delicate. I went over to examine the poor patch of flowers and discovered something that got me even angrier. There was a dog, no, a puppy, lying there, almost dead by the looks of it. His front legs were bloody and destroyed, as if somebody were continuously kicking them in. His back was bloody and shredded, obviously caused by a sharp object such as a kunai or long blade. Disgusting. Picking up the dog, I brought him out to the middle of the street, where it would be easier to clean him up and heal his wounds. Yes, I said it, heal. I learned basic healing at the age of 8. What had caused me to want to learn how to heal? Well my nightmares of course, seeing blood, people dying. I could prevent that; I could prevent death, only if I knew how to heal those wounds. So I started to learn, I picked up books and barricaded myself in my room, preventing myself from eating food (thank goodness I had my own personal bathroom attached to my room) and interacting with my parents, who honestly couldn't care less. I had practiced on the multiple birds stupid enough to hit my window, twisting their neck or breaking their wing. Why did so many birds hit my window? Well, because I lured them of course, though I couldn't believe how many of them were stupid enough to fall for it. And after the first few tries, I had got basic healing down pat.

As I healed the dog, he would whimper every once in a while, which I appreciated. At least I knew the dog was alive. Some of his gashes were deep though, and those had drained a bit of my chakra. But I wasn't upset about it, I was just happy that I could help the poor fellow out. I had waited a few minutes after I had finished healing him, petting his head gently, just waiting for his eyes to open. I knew I was going to be later than Kakashi, but I wasn't going to leave this poor pup out to die. Within the ten minutes after I was done, he had started to stir and groggily got up on his four paws, looking at me with confusion then with gratefulness. He understood what I had done for him. After the pup got up, I stood up myself, walking away, yet again on my track towards the meeting, but the pup just stayed on my track. Maybe life didn't have to be so dull. And for once, if anyone was around, they would've been able to see a real smile start to creep upon my lips.

"KAKASHI-SENSEEIIIII, WHERE'S SAKURA-CHANNNNNNN~" Hn, what an idiot. Does he really expect Kakashi to know such a fact? At least I hope he doesn't… "Hmmm, if I knew Naruto… Well I probably still wouldn't tell you, but I'd definitely be giddier." … "WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN YOU PERVERT!" Goddamn idiot.

I wonder if they are there yet… Wait who am I kidding, I bet Kakashi is there already! "Woof!" Heh, well at least I have company to endure the pain with. Though I doubt the scolding will be too bad. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I should probably give the pup a name. Well it's a girl so I should give it a girl name… Hmmm, maybe I'll name her Hana, yes, I like that. "Hey…" "Woof?" "How would you like to be called Hana?" This earned me many licks and tail wags of approval. "Well I'll take that as a yes, Hana" Giving her a wink I continued on, with Hana on my tail wagging her tail vigorously in excitement. "Let's hurry up Hana, I'm really late for my team meeting" looking back to see what the pup's answer was, I received a nod of approval and we increased our pace, Hana following close behind.

Reaching the path to the bridge, I sighed, preparing for anything that was to come as I reached the bridge, closing my eyes in hopes that they had continued to the training ground already. When I heard little soft growls from behind me, I knew my hopes were useless. "Well that took you long enough! Wow, I give you props, you got here later then I did! Though that won't get you off the hook you know… And hey… Who's the fella' following you?" Sighing, I opened my eyes to look up at my aggravated team, Naruto fuming, more because he seemed worried, Sasuke probably because I took time out of his training, and Kakashi, not as aggravated but still a bit ticked. "I named her Hana, I found her on my way here, she was bloodied and was on the brink of death, if you couldn't tell by the dried blood on her, and on myself. She was lying in a patch of flowers; I assumed that she was a stray due to the lack of a tracker or collar on her. I also assumed that her wounds were due to some children thinking that they would look cool if they were to attack a poor innocent creature… Despicable…" Finishing off with a whisper, not really caring if he accepted the excuse or not.

I walked onto the bridge and climbed onto a railing, which ended up scaring my teammates shitless. They thought I wanted to kill myself, ha. "SAKURA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Yelled Kakashi and Naruto simultaneously. "Don't do this Sakura, stop being so irrational and get the fuck down from there." Meow, kitty has claws. Hana joined me on the ledge, obviously and surprisingly understanding what I was going to do. What dumbasses, a fucking dog I had just met knows me better than them. Idiots. Of course I wasn't going to tell them that I was just going to jump into the river to clean myself off, they overreacted so well that it would make me entertained to see their expressions after I jump. "Haha, okay guys, see ya later!" With that I jumped, Hana alongside me, with the yells of "SAKURA!" in the background as I hit the water's surface.

What a feeling, the water running across my skin. It was therapeutic even; it relaxed every knot in my body. I glided to the surface of the running water, making sure I stayed close enough to the bridge. "God damn it Sakura! I almost jumped in! Urgh! Why didn't you warn us!" Kakashi rose his voice, sweating. "Well you guys overreacted before I could tell you what I was going to do, so I decided to enjoy your horrified looks after I jumped." Pulling everything I can, trying to make the dullness disappear.

About 10 minutes later, as Hana and I were almost completely dried off, Kakashi began to tell us why we were gathered so early and with "empty stomachs". "So Team, I gathered you here today because I have a test for you. I call it the bell test. If you fail this, you will be sent back to the academy-" at this Naruto gasped, and Sasuke grunted "- In the test, your goal is to take one of the two bells I have attached to me." "But Kakashi-senseiiii, there are three of us and only two bells!" "That's correct Naruto, which means one of you will be sent back to the academy!" "WHATTTT! THAT'S NOT FAIR SENSEI!" "Oh please Naruto, nothing in this world is fair. Now team… Begin!" And with that, our sensei disappeared into a puff of smoke, hiding somewhere in the forest around us. Naruto and Sasuke dashed off into the trees, chasing after the perverted ninja. Sighing I sat there, waiting for the two to fail at their tactics. I already understood what he wanted us to do. He deprived us of sleep and food for a reason, a ninja cannot act alone in those conditions and expect to attain a good outcome. He wanted us to work together, as a team.

About an hour had gone by and by the looks of it, Naruto and Sasuke were still failing miserably, not attempting to work together yet. I had been meditating while waiting for the two knuckleheads to figure out the lesson that Kakashi was trying to teach us, when the very ninja himself decided to come to me. "What are you doing, waiting here? In such an open space, I could've attacked you easily." "You wouldn't have succeeded, I've been sensing all of your chakra's, and I would've sensed you coming before you even got out of hiding." "Why, aren't you cocky…? Answer my previous question, Sakura." Sigh, what a dull encounter. "Well, Kakashi-sensei, I've been waiting for my teammates to get a clue. I know what you are trying to teach us, but they wouldn't be learning much if I just out told them the answer would they?" "Well if you think you are so right, what do you think the lesson is Sakura?" Sigh… "I believe the lesson is teamwork. Because teamwork is the only way to complete the task you want us to complete. Without teamwork, all the work is on one person, and with being groggy and hungry, it is nearly impossible to complete the task you want us to do, especially with genin abilities." Yet again, sigh. If my teammates couldn't figure out what a team was, what reason would I have to stay on this field. Yet I am giving them the benefit of the doubt, I will sit, and wait. Another hour at most, if they do not figure out by then, I will resign from the team and leave this ungodly unstable team.

"You are a smart one Haruno. Quite the smart one." Hana goes up to the man, circling his feet in adornment. At least one of us likes the man. Scoff. "Well, I guess I should be leaving, since there is no more work for me here… I am proud of you Sakura." Kakashi finished, poofing off yet again.

"I am proud of you"… "I am proud"…"Proud"… What is this feeling? Pride. Nobody could possibly say that to me, not without lying… Pride. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. What could one possibly find to be proud of? Nothing in me. Nothing is worth being proud of that I own. What lies, what disgusting lies. Hana had curled up at my feet, waiting alongside me. Nudging me as her tail wagged slightly. Pride, what a bitter lie.

A/N- Is it pathetic that I haven't updated this chapter because it took me forever to find a quote? Haha. I thank my reviewers and viewers. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'm so sorry that it seems so slow and there is only a small amount of Sasuke. It's obviously Sakura centric, if you couldn't tell by the point of view. Of course, since this IS a sasusaku story, there will definitely be some more interaction between the two, but that time is to come. I can't exactly give a chapter number that it will start being more prominent, but it will occur before the 10 chapter mark (hoping before the 6 chapter mark, but it depends on my imagination, yanno?) WELLL, review if you please and enjoy the day ;D