Disclaimer: You already know it. I own nothing. :) Except this story! =P
A/N: Sorry took so long! Writers block! o.o
Sakura's well-rested jade eyes fluttered open behind her delicate, curled lashes, as she was awoken by a blinding tint of sunlight that had been shining through the blinds of a nearby window.
Squinting to avoid the sun's brightness, she slowly sat up in the bed holding one of her hands up to the level of her eyes to shield herself from the intrusion.
She stretched her entire body out with a feline swiftness before looking over to the spot where Naruto's sleeping form had once been.
At that moment, she noticed said spot on the bed was empty, and also it was rather cool, indicating he had been gone for some time now. She wondered to herself where Naruto was.
Deciding to investigate the apartment to try to find him, Sakura stood up wrapping a long, white sheet around her body before stepping out into the hallway and looking around. The entire apartment was dead silent.
Sakura called out his name loudly, but received no response. She wandered down the hallway a bit more and yelled his name once again, though she still received no response. Now, her heart began racing a bit.
Forcing herself to calm down from her paranoia, she scanned the kitchen/living room area with her eyes, and noticed upon the counter top a note lie awaiting Sakura to take notice of it. She raised an eyebrow before walking towards the note hesitantly.
From her first glance, she noticed that it was indeed Naruto's handwriting, and so, she began to read it silently to herself.
"Sakura, I had a meeting at the hokage tower. Sorry I didn't wake you and let you know about it. It was kind of unexpected…Don't worry, it's nothing serious, they just needed me to assign some chuunin different missions and stuff like that. It's such a pain really…Anyways, I didn't wanna wake you up over something minor like this so just meet me there whenever you can. Okay? I'll see you later on."
Sakura sat the note back down on the counter and walked back to the bedroom. Placing her middle and index fingers on each of her temples, she made a feeble attempt to will away the migraine that she felt coming on.
She blamed the damn intruding sunlight at such a early hours – but, speaking of which, what time WAS it? She didn't have a clue. So, she looked around the room for a clock of some sorts and finally, spotted the one hanging on the wall of the living room area.
She looked at the time with a shocked expression on her face. It was eleven in the morning, meaning that she had slept straight through her Genin and Chuunin medic class.
She inwardly cursed obscenely at herself for her tardiness and irresponsibility. Then, she recalled that Naruto had left her sleep in, so she shifted her blame towards him. This was all that baka's fault.
Then again, she felt a bit relieved upon noticing just how exhausted her body truly felt after last nights "activities". She didn't feel any different now that her virginity was gone than she did while it was still in tact. She had often heard women saying that once you lose it, you change.
Tch. Shows what they know.
Letting out a long sigh, Sakura forgot her impending migraine and it eventually willed itself away as a result. She headed back towards the bedroom to get dressed for work, realizing that she really shouldn't be wasting time to shower (although she really really wanted to take one now).
Oh, what the hell? Nobody knew she was awake. She'd just hurry up and jump in and out of the shower. She knew if she didn't shower now, she'd regret it later. Most likely, the hospital was going to be busy, yet again, and she very well couldn't be dirty in a hospital, now could she? Of course not! So, it was settled then.
"Konohamaru. Moegi. Shikamaru. Udon…Today is the day for your big mission. This mission is A-Rank, and your first A-Rank as newly appointed chuunin. It is because of this that I have appointed Shikamaru to co-leader, right next to you Konohamaru."
Konohamaru was about to protest before Naruto cut him off with a sharp stare of firmness that his rare former on-again, off-again student rarely got from the blonde; one that clearly stated 'you'll-listen-to-me-and-you'll-like-it-because-I'm-the-hokage-and-what-I-say goes', as well as 'listen-to-me-or-else-you'll-really-regret-it-later', only in less harsh terms.
"Don't, under any circumstances, take his words lightly. I know that you want to be in charge of this team for this mission, Konohamaru," he spoke the younger male's name with clear indication that although he understood Konohamaru's point of view at that moment—as he, himself, was at one time (and still is at other times) the same way.
However, this mission was beyond important. The Raikage's approval of this treaty offering could very well decide Konoha's fade—whether it be finally rebuilding the Hidden Leaf Village to its original glory, or having what remained of it destroyed.
Indeed, this mission needed to be approached with the ultimate delicacy. After he regained his composure and broke away from his thoughts, he began speaking again to the encouraging shinobi all glancing at him expectantly for further details of this mission.
"Heed my warning – being promoted to chuunin without a proper examination was a privilege which can easily be stripped away from you should you disobey any last-minute orders from Shikamaru."
Konohamaru did nothing to conceal the scowl towards Naruto's statement, clearly having been under the impression that HE was the team leader, NOT Shikamaru.
Naruto smiled warmly and understandingly before speaking further.
"Hey…don't think of him as your superior…think of him as…well, as no more than just another teammate. After all…in the end, he is just that…the only difference now is that he holds a bit more authority over all of you than any of your other teammates do."
Konohamaru's scowl intensified and Naruto let out a frustrated sigh running his hands through his golden, spiky hair. This was certainly going to be difficult, Naruto mused to himself.
"If Shikamaru advises something regarding tactics or the mission itself—just generally anything at all—you are to oblige him without a fuss. As I'm sure you know, Shikamaru has the most tactical experience in the entire village."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Naruto's praise and what he strongly felt was an over-exaggeration of the lazy nin's skills.
"Therefore, he is one of Konoha's most precious shinobi. Keep him protected with your lives, as well as keep one another's lives well guarded. Don't buy into that rule book crap about 'putting the mission first'. If something is too much to handle, turn back. Protect one another, and just do what you must. Don't make this into a suicide mission for any of you."
Naruto's eyes scanned across the four, reaching each of their now jittery looking expressions, inwardly glad they were taking his words a bit more seriously.
"This is about teamwork and you know for a fact that I've always taught you that, Konohamaru. You are all prized shinobi of this village, not to mention four of our best chuunin. We cannot afford to lose any of you. So, having said that, just…be prepared to use your best techniques if need be. Your duties are to convince the Raikage to become allies with the Leaf. Any questions?" Naruto asked, his tone firm and clear.
Every one shook their heads 'no', however, and Naruto nodded his head once in confirmation.
"Alright, you'll be expected back in approximately one week. Dismissed!"
"Hai!" The four shinobi shouted in unison before exiting his office.
Naruto smiled a small smile at the respect that his shinobi showed him. He was so glad that his original reasoning for becoming hokage had actually worked. He received now not only acknowledgement, but also respect among the villagers and shinobi.
A knock was heard at his door just a moment later, and he ushered the visitor in. There, he was met by Gaara who was carrying some paperwork with him.
"Gaara…What are you doing here? Is everything okay in your office?"
Naruto frowned slightly hoping that everything was, in fact, okay. He tried his best to make the makeshift office as comfortable as possible for the Kazekage to do any and all of his paperwork in and yet, here he was.
Gaara nodded his head in agreement before speaking softly.
"Is it okay if I do some work in here? It's rather lonely back there without Temari poking and prodding at me like some guinea pig."
Naruto raised one of his blonde eyebrows before flashing a mischievous half grin at the statement, the thought of Temari poking away at the Kazekage flashing throughout his mind.
"And where is Temari-chan today?" Naruto asked, not having any recollection of a mission assigned by himself or by Gaara to the Sand kunoichi.
"She's helping the staff out at the hospital," Gaara simply replied.
Naruto gave Gaara one of his signature foxy grins before ushering him into his office, himself glad to be around a friend as well.
Hours of paperwork had passed in what seemed like minutes. Naruto and Gaara had been in the comfortable silence of filling out village documents, occasionally striking themselves up in random conversations with one another from time to time. However, Naruto's patience—and attention span—was growing thin, and it was pretty obvious to Gaara.
"Wanna take a rest for a bit?" Gaara asked.
Naruto pressed his forehead to his desktop in a very Tsunade-like manner before letting out a groan in agreement, as well as in boredom.
"Hell yeah, dattebayo! This is so nerve wracking, Gaara! How do you do this all day?!" Naruto asked in an overly-dramatized manner.
Gaara gave the blonde a small smile before softly answering his question.
"Someone has to do it, right? Besides, it comes with the job of being a kage. You should know that by now, Naruto-kun."
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in frustration at Gaara's words of truth.
"Ja ne, Gaara! I know that, its just…Ugh, I wish that it wasn't so boring doing all of this paperwork though!"
"Hai, hai…It does bother me at times too…Hmm, how about this – why don't we take that break then?"
Naruto's face lit up at Gaara's proposal, having completely forgotten that Gaara had offered it once before already. Naruto heartily nodded his head in agreement and the two kage's walked out of Naruto's large office towards the Ichiraku Ramen Bar.
Sakura looked up at the sky as she stood alone in the old training ground where Kakashi had first given Team 7 the Bell Test as Genin. The sky was growing dark with impending rain but she could care less about that right now. She was too busy indulging in her own thoughts.
Memories, regrets, hurt, pain, bottled up emotions – all of which are weights and burdens a shinobi must carry upon their shoulders above all else.
Sacrifices must be made for the good of many, or so they had been telling her for as long back as she could recall. But why? Why must it come down to the end of one's life just to bring goodness to the world? Perhaps, she would never know.
The rain began to sprinkle from the sky as it gradually became a downpour. Sakura, on the other hand, ignored the foreign wetness that had caused everything—both clothing and hair—to dampen.
Instead, she stared at nothing in particular so lost in the memories of what once was Team 7. It was such a great time, wasn't it?
Team 7…
Sasuke would be there with his typical stoic face, looking completely carefree and unfazed by the world around him, living in his own dark thoughts of revenge and power.
Sakura would be firmly scolding Naruto for one of many things – usually involving him pulling pranks, saying something to infuriate her, performing his Sexy no jutsu, or bantering on and on about his beloved ramen.
And Kakashi would show up about an hour too late for their training, to which all three Genin would strongly scold him for.
But that wasn't the case any longer. Out of all of Team 7, only she and Naruto remained. That truth alone broke her heart into a million pieces.
With a sudden newly found resolve, Sakura decided to work on some training. After all, she was in the training grounds.
So, she pulled her hitae-ate down over her eyes and took out a handful of kunai and shuriken. Feeling her hands out around her, she began training four of her five senses, excluding her sight. Her body went rigid standing straight into a meditative state. Using her chakra to feel around her, she observed her surroundings and used that alone.
.:. Feel .:.
The rain poured down upon Sakura's body and hit the ground in soft drops. It was cold, wet, and slippery. The weather itself was absolutely horrible to be weapons training in, though it was in fact perfect for her sensory heightening.
.:. Smell .:.
The entire area smelled musky with the copper-like scent of the freshly fallen rain, the Earth beneath Sakura's feet soaking deep within the roots of the ground, nourishing the grass below.
.:. Taste .:.
The rain's fragrance was so thick she could actually taste the vapors around her. It was a thick feeling and one that you didn't even need to open your mouth just in order to taste it.
.:. Hear .:.
Sakura could hear the sounds of countless pitter-patters of raindrops as they hit the ground around her, everything in it's wake not going untouched. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, her body on edge having been reduced of one of it's five senses, her eyes partially opening behind her hitae-ate desperate to find some source of light, though instead, they were only met with the darkness.
.:. Trust It .:.
She stood into her battle stance, her rain-drenched legs crossing one another as the heel of both of her sandals sunk firmly into the mud below, gripping the Earth as much as possible.
.:. Let Go .:.
Sakura's body spun with chakra-enhanced speed as her kunai and shuriken all went off in different directions. Most of them landed in the trunks of nearby trees while several actually hit their targets dead-center.
Only two of the four training posts had been dead-centered hits, and Sakura was certain she had thrown over a dozen kunai and shuriken knives.
Two out of four in a real battle could cost you your life and second best just would not do. Channeling chakra into one of her fists, Sakura punched a nearby training post, the wood splintering off into different directions as the remnants of the post stood firmly in the ground.
.:. Flashback .:.
"Tch. You're so annoying. Just stay out of my way, Sakura. I mean it. Man, you don't even deserve to be called a shinobi. Your just too weak."
Sakura's eyes widened and filled with tears as the boy she had proclaimed to love endlessly spat those harsh and cruel words at her. It was like getting a cold slap to the face. For the first time in her life, she felt cold. His coldness had actually managed to radiate from the hate in his eyes and the hiss in his voice and quite frankly, she just went numb.
.:. End of Flashback .:.
I'm not good enough…
Sakura fell to the ground in defeat, having lost the inner battle with her memories.
I never was good enough…
How often did those words echo in her mind, haunting her subconscious? How long had she felt worthless over him? Defeated by his prodigal ways?
I couldn't save them…
Perhaps if Sakura was stronger during Pein's invasion, she could have saved everyone precious to her who had been killed.
…Tsunade-shishou…Kakashi-sensei…Mother, Father…I'm sorry…
Perhaps if things were different that day, she could have finally shown everybody how strong she was. But instead, she watched her loved ones die from the sidelines.
I am worthless…
.:. Flashback .:.
"Shinobi who break the rules are trash…but shinobi who turn their back on their friends are worse than trash…"
.:. End of Flashback .:.
I am trash…
Sakura screamed out in frustration at the top of her lungs, the sound reverberating throughout the training grounds. Startled birds flew from their shelter within the tree branches but Sakura paid them no mind. Instead, she lowered her head to the ground, the water pooling around her body continuing to make tiny ripples in the puddled grass.
I can't keep crying over it though. No matter what happens, I can't show my emotions. Wow…For once, rule number twenty-five is coming in handy. Who would have thought, eh? I've spent so much of my life weak and overly-emotional over stupid things. Now, it's my time to get stronger, so no matter what, I will not cry ever again.
Sakura's features instantly became determined and she resumed her training.
"Ya know, you keep training out here, you're gonna catch a cold," a soft voice spoke from behind Sakura. Startled, she spun around on her heel to get a glimpse at whoever spoke to her, and a grin instantly graced her face.
"Naruto!"
Sakura ran up to Naruto and hugged him, neither of them seeming to notice—nor care—about the fact that her clothes were drenched from the rain.
Finally parting their embrace, Sakura noticed that Gaara was with Naruto and looking rather irritable due to his disliking of rain. Then again, what sand wielding shinobi would enjoy the rain? After all, rain—or any other form of water—does render sand completely useless in battle.
"Ohayo, Gaara-kun," Sakura greeted the Kazekage whom in turn nodded his head in greeting. Gaara was standing beneath a nearby tree as a means of shelter from the intruding liquid.
"What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you two be at work?"
Sakura placed a hand on her hip and raised a suspicious brow at the two kage's whom were seemingly slacking off. From Naruto, she would expect this, but Gaara was certainly a surprise to her.
"Uhh…Well…Gaara and I were taking a break from doing our paperwork…and so…we went to Ichiraku's for some lunch…We were on our way back to the hokage tower when we heard a scream. So, we decided to check it out. Are you okay?"
Oh damn…
"Scream? I didn't hear a scream. Maybe you were mistaken," Sakura managed with a straight face. This time, Gaara responded to her statement, indicating that there couldn't have been a mistake as he had heard the loud scream as well.
Double damn…
"Well, I didn't hear anything as I've said. But yes, I am fine." Sakura said with a smile, though it was a bit more forced than usual. However, Naruto and Gaara didn't pay much mind to it.
"Sakura-chan, you're gonna get sick. Come on, lets get out of the rain, ne? I think Gaara's going to have a nervous breakdown if we don't get out of the rain soon," Naruto said with a chuckle.
The result being a small glare from the Sand shinobi, though it wasn't very threatening as Gaara had taken it as it was intended to be taken: as a joke.
The corners of his lips upturned in a small smile momentarily, and Sakura, whom had been observing the little silent interaction between the Kyuubi container and former Shukaku container, hesitantly agreed to join them in the shelter of the Hokage tower.
The short trip to the tower wasn't very far, much to Gaara's relief, and Naruto had given a shivering Sakura his orange and black jacket to wear in order to make her more warm. The three ran into the building once the rain picked up and began to pour down, barely allowing the three shinobi time to react and seek shelter from the downpour.
Gaara's hair was the wettest part of his body, while Sakura and Naruto were more thoroughly drenched. Albeit, the main reason was probably from their earlier embrace, but either way, they were both more wet than the Kazekage.
Thunder crashed outside of the hokage tower as the three shinobi were soon engulfed in darkness, the only light shining into Naruto's large office being that from the outside bolts of lightning.
"Dammit. The electric is out," Naruto cursed while rummaging around in one of his desk drawers for a candle. Finally, he found it along with a pack of matches. Moments later, the lights flickered back on and Naruto raised a blonde eyebrow but said nothing in response.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled as he, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon continued to hop through the trees.
He was complaining this time of the fact that during their trip of three hours (thus far), the team had made seven rest stops, eight bathroom breaks, four snack breaks, and they weren't even at the border yet. He swore in the back of his mind that these three were trying to punish him. Although Shikamaru was well-known to be a lazy procrastinator, this mission was deemed "extraordinarily troublesome," as he had put it.
"Oh quiet you, you've been saying 'troublesome' every five minutes since we left the village," Konohamaru scowled in a mocking manner.
"Well, I wouldn't be saying how 'troublesome' this situation is if it wasn't troublesome but it IS indeed troublesome," Shikamaru responded. Replaying what he said in his head, Shikamaru realized he had probably just confused the hell out of the young chuunin but at this point could care less. The Konohamaru Corps were tolerable to a degree, that being when Konohamaru wasn't with them. Yes, that is precisely what Shikamaru had concluded at this point.
Konohamaru ignored his retort and continued quietly hopping through the treetops along with his two teammates.
Shikamaru resumed his thoughts about the troublesomeness of this mission. Alongside those thoughts, he was also thinking of strategies on how he would to present Konoha's ally proposal. After all, Naruto hadn't given him much information to work with on this matter.
Okay, so what do I know about the Hidden Cloud Village…
Images coming to his mind in the forms of maps, blueprints, documents, and all other information he had stored in his memories, he recalled one detail at a time.
Alright, the Hidden Cloud Village is the enemy of Konohagakure for the mere fact of a personal dispute involving the Hyuuga clan. That dispute alone was the sole reason that they had went from being our false allies to actual enemies. Now, surely this is going to come up during the discussion, so I need to come up with some way around it…Hmm…Maybe if I'm lucky, it won't even come up…Ugh, and if it does, I need a Plan B…This is too troublesome…
Chances are, they wouldn't arrive until the next day. Letting out a long, irritated sigh, Shikamaru and the Konohamaru Corps continued their journey a bit longer before they would set up camp for the night.
A/N:
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. Things have gotten kinda (okay, extremely) hectic in my life. I'm a senior and since it's the last month of school, I've really been focusing on my school work. Plus, I've had writers block on this story and have no idea where I'm going to take it. I don't even know if this story sucks or what… I mean personally, I think that as far as being self-judgmental goes, it could be better. But then again, I've had a lot of support for this story. But, it's chapter five at this point, so there's no turning back now. Hopefully, this story has a good outcome at the end. I may not update for a good while as I am still extremely busy with my school work. But, I'll try my best to update it somehow and sometime before the end of May. Bu, I'm not making promises.