A/N: Sorry for the wait! Here's chapter two! Enjoy!
I do not own Naruto.
Sakura has been traveling for about thirteen hours now. She was quite exhausted and her chakra was running low from traveling all day. She stopped on the nearest tree branch and took out the map that Hinata and Shikamaru gave her. Deciding that staying at a nearby inn seemed more pleasing than camping out, she applied her chakra to the map and it showed her the nearest town. 'So, the nearest town is about two miles west from here. Perfect! I should be able to get there in twenty minutes.' The rosette noticed that the yellow line didn't go through the main road. Curious to why it didn't, she looked closely at the map and noticed that there were six small dots a little off the main road.
"Must be a group of bandits... Their chakra is too small for them to be ninjas."
Sakura sighed. She didn't want to waste her time and chakra, fighting useless bandits. She has to save as much chakra as possible just in case she runs into missing nin or worse... Akatsuki. It'll take longer to get to town now but it's for the best. Sakura closed her map, put it back in her bag and took out her water and a snack. She looked up at the sky, it was a beautiful mixture of orange, yellow, red and pink. The rosette smiled and enjoyed the scenery.
"It's great doing solo missions. Getting to enjoy time alone outside the village and no loudmouth Naruto, Emotionless Sai, and perverted Kakashi to ruin it. But... It sure does get a little lonely at times." Just then Sakura heard a sound, it sounded like a bell. She looked around to see what it was but the sound left soon after it came.
"I must be hearing things." Deciding to ignore it, the rosette packed all of her things and headed towards town.
Sakura checked in at the nearest inn but apparently it was the only inn here. Which isn't surprising, the town is quite small after all. The place was a bit run down, there were small cracks on the wall and the floor would make a creaking sound. There were a few stains on the carpet and some of the wallpaper were peeling off, also. The rosette didn't care though, she wasn't expecting anything high class. 'This definitely beats camping outside.' She put her things down, grabbed clean clothes and headed towards the bathroom.
"It's time for me to take a nice bath!"
The rosette stepped inside the bathtub filled with hot steamy water, she grabbed her essential oils and poured a little in the water. Sakura brings a few bottles of essential oils on missions because it's great for relieving stress, well that and the fact that it smell absolutely amazing! Today, she decided to use rosemary. She leaned back and sighed, the smell of rosemary filled her nose and lungs. Sakura smile and closed her eyes.
"Ah. This feels great!"
After a hour of soaking, the rosette stepped out of the tub, changed into fresh clothes, walked out the bathroom and sat on her bed. Took out her belongings deciding whether or not she should restock for the trip tomorrow. She grabbed her map and opened it. 'If I leave early, I should be able to arrive to the Tea Country by noon. So, I think I'll just restock on food and medical supplies just in case.' Sakura closed her map and wrote a list of things to buy. Just then, her necklace began to flicker, it was the necklace Naruto gave her!
The rosette smiled. "He's saying hello! Oh wait, the bracelet!" Sakura grabbed her pouch and pulled out her bracelet. There were a few crystals flickering. It was Tsunade, Sai, Shikamaru, Ino, Kakashi, and Hinata.
Sakura chuckled. "I wonder why they're up so late anyways?" She flared her charka a bit to say hello back and to let them know that she was doing fine. They flickered back as if telling her goodnight and to be safe. She laid down on the bed and look out the dark sky was filled with brilliant shining stars.
"It's a little boring without my teammates. We'd always go outside and watch the stars. I wonder if they're looking at the stars right now?" Just then, Sakura heard a sound, it was the same sound she heard earlier.
"Okay... So I'm not hallucinating. Where is it coming from, though?" She looked around to see where the sound was coming from and she noticed that her bag was moving. Sakura quickly grabbed her kunai and slowly approached her bag. She raised her kunai, getting ready to slice the imposter and opened it. First thing she noticed was a small fur ball. It was black and white with pointed ears and a tail. The thing looked up at her and she noticed that it's eyes were icy blue. It was a...
"Arf!"
"... A puppy?"
Sakura sat on the bed staring at the puppy that was sitting across from her. 'How in the world did a dog get inside my backpack?!' She didn't recall stopping anywhere besides that one time she decided to have a break before getting into town. Even then, she would have noticed that there was a dog near her. The rosette continued to stare at the small pup, she noticed that it had a collar with a medium sized bell on it.
"So that was the sound I heard earlier..." Sakura examined the collar and noticed that there was a small note attached to it. She grabbed the note and read it.
'Hope you like your little gift. -Kakashi and Kiba.'
"Hah?!"
(Flashback)
Kiba and Kakashi came up to the rosette. They gave her something that was soft and furry. It was a stuffed animal, a husky to be exact. Her eyebrow rose. " A stuffed husky...?"
Kiba snickered. Kakashi chuckled. "You might get a little lonely. Who knows... Something might surprise you." Sakura gave them a suspicious look but decided to let it slide.
(End Flashback)
"Ehhhh?! Y-You're that stuffed animal?! But how?" Sakura question while pointing at the pup. The pup just simply tilted its head and stared.
"Urgh, nevermind. I have a headache and I need to get some sleep." The rosette turned off the lights and laid down. She felt something near her head. Sakura looked up and saw the puppy laying next to her, it licked her cheeks and closed its eyes. Sakura smiled.
"I guess it won't be so lonely after all."
The rosette woke up early, she glanced at the window and noticed that it was still a little dark. 'Should be around 6am' She packed all of her belongings, ate breakfast and checked out of the inn. Surprisingly, there was a store that was open this early. The rosette grabbed all of the things that she needed and left town. She glanced back and noticed the pup following her. She stopped and bent down.
"Alright, since you're officially my dog... We're going to have to name you. Hmm, let's see." Sakura put her have on her chin, while the pup tilted its head. She looked into the pups eye, it was a beautiful icy blue. At that moment she thought of a perfect name.
"Well since you're a boy I'll name you Sora, because your eyes are as clear and blue as the sky!"
Sora wagged his tail happily and barked. He liked his name.
Sakura smiled. "Well, Sora. Let's get going, shall we?"
"Arf!"
Sakura and Sora have been traveling for a few hours. They were pretty close to the Tea Country's border. Sakura was enjoying the warm weather. She heard a faint whimper, she turned around and saw that Sora was lagging behind and panting. She ran up to him.
"Oh my! You must be tired, thirsty and hungry! You haven't had anything to eat yet! Here's some water!" Sakura pull out a small bowl and poured water in it. Sora happily lapped up the water. The rosette searched for anything edible for a dog but found nothing. She mentally punched herself for forgetting to buy dog food.
"Sorry Sora! I didn't mean to let you starve! There's a town up ahead. We'll get you something to eat there." She let Sora finish drinking his water. After that, she put the bowl back in her bag, grabbed Sora and put him on her shoulder.
"Hang on tight!" Sakura ran towards town but little did she know, there were four other ninjas heading the same direction.
It took them about fifteen minutes to get to town. She went into a convenient store and bought two packs of dog food. She and Sora sat outside, the pup ate his food while the rosette ate her onigiri. The town was oddly quiet. It was almost noon and not many people were out. In fact, people were rushing inside and closing their shops. She felt someone approach her.
"Excuse me, miss?" Sakura turned around. It was the middle aged man that owned the convenient store. She stood up and approached the man. He looked at her warily.
"Yes? Is there anything wrong, sir? Oh no! Did I forget to pay, again?!"
The owner threw his hands up and shook his head. "No, no! You seem like a nice young lady and I came to warn you. There are people causing trouble up ahead. The civilians here are closing their shops. You better get out of here. I don't want to see you getting hurt." Sakura looked to where the owner was pointing. There was a man carrying a little girl and a woman, most likely her mother, begging for him to let her go. The man had white hair, a purple top and was carrying a huge sword.
'Is that Zabuza's sword? This could be bad.'
She turned to the store owner and smiled at him. "Thank you for your concern. I'll take care of it. You go on inside and stay safe."
"But that man looks dangerous!"
"Don't worry about me! Now go on!" The owner looked her and opened his mouth to protest but Sakura raised her hand to stop him.
"I can handle myself, Oji-san. Trust me." Sakura smiled. The owner nodded reluctantly and headed back to his store. She waited until he was safely inside and locked his door. After hearing a click, she turned around with a serious expression.
"Come on, Sora."
"Arf!"
Sakura walked towards the man and woman. The closer she got the more she was able to hear their conversation.
"P-Please sir! I don't have the things you need! Please let go of my daughter!" The woman cried.
"Quit lying! I know you have it!" The man shouted.
"M-Mama!" The girl whimpered.
"You better hurry or else I'll slice the girl in half!"
"No, please don't!"
Sakura narrowed her eyes and ran towards them. Having enough with the situation she quickly disappeared and reappeared behind the man. He tensed at her presence.
"You know... No one is going to sell you anything if you keep on kidnapping children and threatening them like that."
"What the?!" The man turn around and raised his fist, getting ready to strike but Sakura beat him to it. She blocked his attack and punched him with her charka infused fist, making him fly a few meters away. He let the child go and Sakura quickly grabbed the girl before she hit the ground. The rosette gave the child back to the woman.
"Thank you so much! I owe you my life!"
"Don't worry about it! Now, go inside and lock your door!"
"What's your name? I'm Mitsu and this is my daughter Aiko. I'd love to know the name of my daughter's savior!"
"Haruno, Sakura. Now, please hurry and go inside."
Mitsu quickly grabbed Aiko and rushed inside their home. "Be careful, Haruno-san!"
The rosette nodded and smiled. As soon as they shut the door, she felt a presence behind her. The man took out his sword and swung it towards her head. She quickly dodge his attack and did a number of backflips to put some distance between them.
"That was quite a punch, Pinky!" The man grinned. His teeth were pointed, it kind of reminded her of that Kisame guy.
"Hey, Pinky! What's your name?"
"You first."
"Hozuki, Suigetsu! Expert swordsman!"
"Sakura."
Suigetsu chuckled. "That name suits you well."
"So, Suigetsu. How did you get that sword?"
"Oh you know... Just picked it up somewhere."
"You mean stole?"
"Oh so you know, Zabuza! Well, it isn't stealing if the person is dead." Suigetsu grinned.
Sakura glared. "Enough talking. Leave this village, now!"
"Make me!" Suigetsu taunted.
The rosette smirked. "Alright, I will!"
The white hair man came at her fast, and swung his sword. The rosette ducked and kicked upwards but all of a sudden his head burst into water. 'W-What the?' His head went back to its original form.
Suigetsu smirked. "Nice try, Pinky!" He swung his sword again. Sakura try to dodge it but she wasn't fast enough. The sword cut her upper arm and blood spurted out. She jumped a few meters back and observed the white haired man.
'So he's made out of water. Interesting.'
"Like what you see?"
"You wish."
He came at her again, determined to slice her in half. She dodged his attack and landed on his still moving sword. He looked up at her in surprise, she kicked his face, and he flew back. Sakura quickly ran up to him, grabbed his collar, slammed him on the ground and punched him in the stomach, creating a huge crater when she did. Suigetsu coughed up blood, looking utterly surprised.
"H-how did you manage to punch me?"
"I'm a medical ninja. I used my healing chakra to solidify your body."
Suigetsu tried to get up, but he couldn't. It hurt to move.
"I wouldn't move if I were you. You have three broken ribs and two fractures."
Just then Sakura felt three chakra signatures approaching fast. Two ninjas appeared in front of her. There was a female with long red hair, red eyes and had glasses on. The other one was a tall male with spiky orange hair and hazel eyes. They grabbed their kunias, and got into their fighting stance.
"Suigetsu, you idiot! We gave you one simple task and you couldn't even do that!" The red head shouted.
"S-Shut up." Suigetsu coughed.
"Who are you and why did you attack our teammate?!"
"Hey, he was the one causing trouble. I was only trying to rescue the little girl he kidnapped."
The red head turned and glared at Suigetsu. "You did what?!"
"Eheh heh heh..."
"You know... If this gets out, he's going to kill you!"
'He?'
"Oh look, speaking of the devil!"
"Sakura."
The rosette froze at the voice that was coming from behind. It was dark and deep. 'That voice! I know that voice! Shit this is bad.' She slowly turned around, emerald met red... The sharingan.
"S-Sasuke..."
A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys! I've just graduated from college and now I'm working, so it's hard to find time to write. I'll try to update my other stories as well. I'm currently having writers block for Konoha's Blossom. It's been such a long time, so I'm going to have to re-read my own story! Haha! If you guys haven't read my other stories please do! It'll make me a happy camper! Anyways hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter we're starting off with Sasuke's POV. Fave, follow, review! Tell me what you think of the story so far! Until next time! Bye!
CHAPTER 3 PREVIEW
"You're going to join me, Sakura"
"Who'd want to join a psychopath and his dysfunctional team? I think I'll pass."
Sasuke smirked. He walked up to the rosette and whispered in her ear.
"We'll see about that, Sa-ku-ra. You're going to regret those words."