Chapter 23
Almost
Tsunade had seen a lot of things in her day. Not much surprised her anymore. Of course, being a top medical ninja as well as the Hokage could have been the reason for that.
But when she saw a clay bird flying down from the sky with two Akatsuki members, Ino, and a pale, bleeding Sakura, well, her jaw was on the floor.
Here she was walking down the streets of Konoha to go and speak with Hinata's father and then THIS happens? There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She was completely shocked. So much so, in fact, that it was Ino who had to run to her, grabbing her hand.
"Tsunade-sama! Hurry!"
Tsunade blinked, finally taking control of the situation. It took her a second to regain her wits. After all, what the hell was Ino doing with the Akatsuki? The same people who had kidnapped Sakura in the first place? Her eyes locked with the Akatsuki carrying Sakura. She recognized him immediately. After all, who besides Sasuke had the Sharingan except him?
"Uchiha Itachi." Her voice became cold, strong, unyielding. She was the Hokage. She wouldn't budge, not even for the Uchiha prodigy. Not until he damn well explained himself!
"We don't have time for this, Tsunade-sama!" Ino gasped out. "Sakura's dying!" Yes, Tsunade could see that. But she had more on her mind than just her apprentice, unfortunately. She had to think of what was best for Konoha.
"Hn."
"What the hell do you think you're doing in Konoha?" Tsunade ground out. "Do you think that just because Sakura Haruno is my apprentice I am going to let you waltz into MY village anytime you god damn please?" She was ready to fight him if it came to that. Of course, the fact that Ino was with them led her to believe they weren't here to kill anyone.
"Uh, Hokage-sama?" That was the blonde haired Akatsuki member.
"What do you want?" Tsunade snapped. Couldn't they all see she was having a hard enough time as it was? She could see that Ino was using all of chakra just to keep Sakura alive. And of course Tsunade wanted to save her. But…she had to follow protocol.
She had to protect her village.
That reminded her, where the hell was Naruto? Oh my god…they didn't get him, did they?
"I'm Deidara, yeah." The blonde amended. "And I understand you probably don't really care about who I am, but don't you think it would be best to heal Sakura-chan first and then discuss this with us?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously. She hated it when people made sense and made her look like an idiot. Ok, so that probably wasn't his plan, but that was how she felt. "Where are the others, Ino?"
"Oh." Ino looked to her, but her eyes kept flickering back to Sakura's pale form. "They're coming. They couldn't fly on the bird so they had to come here on foot."
Tsunade nodded. "Very well. Ino!"
"Hai?"
"Go get Shizune and tell her I need my top five medic-nins and herself to come down to room 603."
Ino's face brightened slightly. "Alright. But, do you need my help? I'd really like to help heal Sakura."
Tsunade shook her head. "You can't, Ino. You don't have the chakra to do this operation. You're out already from keeping her alive. I'll take over from here."
Ino's head bent slightly as she nodded. "Hai." Then she jumped into the air and disappeared, heading towards the Hokage's Tower.
Tsunade was left with the two Akatsuki members.
"Give me Sakura." Tsunade held out her hands, her eyes coldly fixed on Itachi. She knew all about his genjutsu, but at the moment all she wanted was her apprentice back! To hell with the Mangekou.
"Come on, she's a medic-nin yeah." Deidara commented softly. "Give Sakura-chan to her."
Tsunade almost gasped as Sakura's body touched her arms. She was covered in blood, and she could already see the multiple wounds on her body. But that wasn't what shocked her. It was her insides.
"Genma!" Tsunade barked. The Jônin appeared beside her, looking slightly bored before he took in the full picture. His senbon dropped from his open mouth.
"Akatsuki." He finally got his voice back as his hand went to his kunai.
Tsunade stopped him from doing something foolish, however. "I want you to go and get two of the ANBU squads. Bring them down to the hospital. They'll be watching our Akatsuki friends while I heal Sakura. And then we'll see what happens next. And don't forget to get that idiot Jiraiya too."
"R-Right." Genma answered back slowly, before he disappeared.
Tsunade wondered if the two Akatsuki members noticed the intense and surprised stares of the villagers. They were whispering among themselves, pointing at the trademark cloaks and hats.
"Don't do anything foolish." Tsunade muttered underneath her breath as she saw several of Konoha's shinobi grab weapons, instantly recognizing the two criminals who stood in the middle of the village. She sent them a level look and they all backed down, but their hands remained on their weapons and their eyes never left the two men.
"We're heading to the hospital." Tsunade spoke to the two shinobi. "Come on."
"Right, yeah." Deidara nodded.
"Hn."
They were all seated in the waiting room, and the silence was unbearable. Sasuke looked around at them all. Kakashi had come as soon as he'd heard the news. He was sitting in his chair, shoulders slumped and hands covering his face. There was no Icha Icha to be seen.
Naruto was crying, trying desperately to stop, as he sobbed into Hinata's shoulder. She was crying too, but she seemed to have taken the initiative to be Naruto's support, and she was soothing him, rubbing his back as she whispered something to him. She didn't stutter.
Sai was seated next to Yamato, and he was staring down at the sketchbook in his hands. His hands were shaking. It was the only way Sasuke could tell he was feeling any emotion at all, since his face held nothing.
Akamaru was whining softly from where he was seated at Kiba's feet, while Kiba absentmindedly scratched his ears, a dazed look on his face, as if he couldn't believe this was happening. Shino was silent, but not in the usual, mysterious way. No, this time, it was a pained and tense silence.
Temari was gripping Shikamaru's hand tightly, trying to keep a serious gaze as the tears leaked from her eyes. She had to remain strong. She knew that was what Sakura would have wanted.
Ino sat beside her, and Temari stopped for a moment, seeing the fragility of her friend and the way her eyes were riveted to the operation room door.
She merely grabbed Ino's hand in her other one, giving it a comforting squeeze. Ino looked up at her, and gave a grateful smile before turning back to watch the door once more.
Choji ate nothing. A bag of chips was lying on the seat beside him, unopened and untouched.
Neji was letting Tenten cry softly into his chest, while Lee sat beside him, straight and tense. Neji could tell he was trying to mentally prepare himself for the worst. Neji didn't know if he could take that. His grip on Tenten tightened as he thought of what was happening in the operation room.
He wasn't allowed to use his Byakugan, so like the others, he waited.
The Akatsuki were merely standing to one side of the room. Deidara was pacing softly, trying to ignore the wary stares of all the ANBU and Jônin guards—as well as the gaze of the legendary Sannin Jiraiya.
Sasori's fingers twitched, and the others knew he was searching for a puppet to begin manipulating. That was what he did when he was stressed. But the ANBU had taken their weapons—even Deidara's clay. Kisame had to place Samehada against the wall for them, so that it wouldn't jump out and attack them.
Of course, even without their weapons, the Akatsuki were hardly helpless.
Deidara's eyes went to the female Jônin who had searched him. She had scarlet colored eyes, and she was pretty. He'd thought of commenting to her that she could search him all she liked, and that she would have to be very thorough, just to lighten the mood. But, then he'd seen the cigarette-smoking Jônin and realized it was probably not a good idea.
Gai stood in front of Kakashi, giving a small sigh. "It isn't your fault, Kakashi."
"I should have been there." Kakashi muttered.
"Hey, she's Tsunade's apprentice." Jiraiya drawled. "I have no doubt she'll pull through. She still hasn't kicked my ass for the last time she caught me peeking in the women's bath."
They all looking to Jiraiya with small smiles, but they faded quickly.
Kisame gave a small grin. "Hey, trust me, kitten is hardly going to let herself get killed off by that bastard Tomokazu. I think she'd come back from the grave just to spite him."
"How would you know what Sakura would have done?" Sasuke snapped out, giving Kisame a full Uchiha glare. "You don't know her."
Everyone turned to look at the two.
"I know her better than you, little Uchiha punk." Kisame growled back. "At least I didn't get her kidnapped by an insane psychopath."
"As if you could have done better." Sasuke was standing at this time.
"Yeah, I could have." Kisame snarled. "Because I'm not a weak little Uchiha who can't live up to the family name."
"Why you—" Sasuke lunged forward, but Shikamaru grabbed him on one side, Choji on the other.
The ANBU guards around the room had tensed considerably.
"Listen, we all know that tensions are running high right now, but let us try and remain calm." Kakashi spoke softly.
"For Sakura's sake."
"As if that fish freak would know what was best for Sakura." Sasuke grunted.
"HEY!" And then it began once more, only now the others joined in, trying to regain peace as they all yelled at each other.
"Hey cut it out you idiots!" Ino screamed. "They're trying to concentrate in the other room!"
"Hey, no one asked your opinion little girl!"
"E-everyone n-needs to c-calm down…"
"The Hyuga girl's right. Just suck it up Kisame, yeah."
"Don't YOU start with me Deidara!"
"'Dear Naruto,
How long has it been since I've last written? Of course, you haven't gotten any of the letters, so I suppose it doesn't matter.'"
All of them stopped arguing to turn to Naruto, who was still sitting on one of the waiting room chairs, a small scroll open on his lap. The tears were falling down his cheeks in a constant stream.
"'How are you feeling? I'm doing all right, I suppose. I've felt better, of course. I'm nursing a hangover to be exact, or I was earlier this morning. Sounds too weird huh? Kisame decided that we needed to celebrate. He, Deidara and I drank a bit too much I guess. It wasn't much to celebrate, but they decided I needed it.'"
"What is that?" Tenten asked softly.
"Is that Sakura's?" Kurenai questioned.
Naruto merely kept reading, his eyes never leaving the scroll.
"'Life here isn't so bad. I wanted to tell you about it. I want you to know what I do every day. I want you to see that maybe, just maybe, I'm better off here. I still don't know, but I'll let you be the judge'"
That sounds like you, Sakura. You were always so optimistic, trying to find good in the bad. Kakashi thought to himself.
"'I have my own room. It's nice, with a large bed, a bookshelf, a desk, and a trunk full of my old things. I still have the frog key chain you g-gave me. It's always attached to my kunai p-pouch. It makes it look cute."
Naruto's voice was trembling now.
"'At the moment, I'm sitting here in my room, looking out my window at the mountainside below me. It's beautiful up h-here. The flowers are beginning to b-bloom. I've always loved spring, and I can't wait until they're all blooming. There's such a large garden, it reminds me of Ino's f-flower shop.'"
Ino's eyes glistened with tears as she gave a small smile. "Sakura always loved flowers. She was so bad at arranging them though…" She sniffed. "She would have failed flower arranging at school if I hadn't helped her…"
"What kind of flower am I, Ino? You're the prettiest flower there is. What's left for me?"
Ino turned to her best friend. "Well Sakura, I don't really see you as a flower at all."
Sakura looked up at her, her face curious and a little saddened. "Huh?"
"I think you're just a bud. You haven't blossomed yet, Sakura. Who knows what kind of a flower you'll be."
"Oh…"
"'There's a small village below the temple, an hour or so's walk from here. The people there are nice and friendly. There was a festival a few weeks ago. Deidara, Kisame, and I decided to go down and enjoy it while it lasted. You should have seen it. It was beautiful. Tell Neji I wore the necklace he gave me. It looked so pretty with the kimono. '"
Neji closed his eyes softly, as a few tears trickled from beneath his eyelids. Sakura…
"Neji…I wanted to tell you that I really liked the necklace." Sakura stood in front of the door at the Hyuga mansion, a small, grateful smile on her face.
Neji blinked in surprise as he watched the young woman in front of him. He had actually been avoiding her slightly, since he had been embarrassed about the present, wondering what she would think about it. He had been afraid she'd reject it. But apparently he had been wrong.
She was wearing it right now. It glistened against her neck, the blossom pendant bright against the mint green kimono she wore. Her hair was tied up prettily in a knot at the back of her head, and she was carrying a fan.
She was also looking down at her hands, a soft blush painting her cheeks.
"It's nothing." Neji finally managed to say. He heard the shouts and cheers in the distance, knowing that the festival was starting.
"Uh, Neji?"
"Hm?"
"Would you like to go to the festival with me?" She asked hesitantly.
Would he? If Neji had been more like his young cousin he might have fainted. "Of course."
She gave him a bright smile, even though he found it different then her old ones when she had been younger. It was as if she were having a good time but she was having a hard time giving a true smile, so she had merely plastered a fake one on her face.
Neji held out his arm, looking back to see his uncle and Hinata watching from the door. His uncle had a small, knowing smile on his face, and Hinata had a bright grin—almost mischievous if he would ever use the word to describe his cousin—and she was dressed in a kimono as well. She'd already told him that she was heading to the festival with Kiba and Shino.
"What do you want to do first, Neji-kun?" Sakura teased as she looped her arm in his and they began walking.
"I just want to…walk." Neji answered truthfully, giving her one of his small smiles that was still considered a smirk if you didn't look hard enough. He saw her grin, and he knew she saw through the smirk.
"Very well, Neji-kun. I'm going to make you walk until your feet fall off. Here we go!"
"'We had so m-much fun. Deidara bought me some friend s-squid and he won me a large teddy b-bear. It's sitting on my bed right now.'"
Naruto breathed in another ragged breath.
The others looked at the Akatsuki members in question. Kisame merely looked to the operation room door, as if he didn't want to meet their eyes. Deidara stared down at his feet.
"'I know it's s-strange to hear about these people like th-this. I know you probably can't understand why Deidara would w-want to win me a teddy bear. Kisame was g-going tom but he wasn't having much luck. He was already drunk by that t-time.'"
Kisame gave a small laugh and smirked to himself as he heard those words. Way to make me look like a pussy, kitten. Thanks. I'll never be able to look these guys straight in the eye now.
"Awe come on kitten, I can do it." Kisame grumbled as he stumbled up to where Deidara and Sakura stood in front of the booth.
"And I bet my teddy bear will look a lot cuter then the one that Deidara won you." He grinned as he gave a wink, before he grabbed one of the rings.
"Don't concentrate too hard, Kisame. Your brain might explode." Sakura laughed.
"What brain, yeah?" Deidara commented offhandedly.
Kisame shot him a dirty look before he threw the ring.
"Whoops." Deidara whistled. "You were a little off, Kisame. Try again, yeah."
"Shuddap." Kisame slurred as he grabbed another ring. "I'll get it this time."
…
"Third time's the charm."
But unfortunately, the third time wasn't the charm. Neither was the fourth, fifth, or sixth try.
"Don't worry about it, Kisame." Sakura sighed. "You're going to go broke."
Kisame slammed his hand on the counter, his fist full of money. "Just give me the damn bear!"
The man behind the counter jumped, before he stuttered out, "S-sorry sir. We don't have any bears left. He won the last one." He motioned towards Deidara, who grinned.
Kisame's eyes narrowed. "Then get me the next best thing!"
…
"Uh, thanks Kisame. It's…nice." Sakura smiled at him, while Deidara coughed into his hand.
"It's cute Kisame. Arigato." Sakura gave him a bright smile, a teddy bear in one hand, a stuffed octopus in the other.
"'But N-Naruto…these people are really nice. No, I suppose nice isn't the word I'd describe them as.'"
Even Sasori smiled slightly at that. Itachi's eyes merely stayed fixed to the scroll.
"'I think I'd s-say they're merely…human…"
Everyone blinked, looking at Naruto. His fingers clenched, crumpling the edges of the scroll. They slowly turned to look at the Akatsuki.
"'They're actually teaching me some jutsus. It's like team seven all over again, except it's a team of one student and three senseis. A bit different then what we had, ne?'"
Kakashi smiled softly from beneath his mask, but said nothing.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura let out an annoyed groan as she tapped her foot lightly on the ground. "You're late."
"Well you see, there was this family of ducks trying to cross the street and a wagon came flying by and—"
Sakura sighed. "Kakashi-sensei, those lame excuses didn't even work on my when I was little. What makes you think they'll work now?"
Kakashi let out his own sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck and smiled.
"It was worth a shot."
Kisame grunted. "She wasn't the easiest student."
Deidara laughed. "You were just mad that you couldn't push her around, yeah."
Kisame grunted again.
Tsunade barked orders as she stood in front of the table. A nurse came up and wiped the sweat from her brow. She felt the tears threaten to break through, but she wouldn't let them.
Shizune stood beside her, her own hands glowing with chakra. Five other medic-nins stood in their circle around Sakura's limp form. Shizune tried to ignore the way her hands trembled. She'd always prided herself on her self-control when it came to saving lives. But this was Sakura…
She didn't know what she would have done if she couldn't hear Naruto. When he'd begun reading, the entire medical staff in the room had looked up, then down at the lifeless form in front of them.
"Sakura…" Shizune whispered to herself.
"'Deidara's been teaching me some clay techniques. I was just promoted to exploding clay, which made my day of course. You had better watch out if you ever ask me to spar with you again. You'll be in for a rude awakening.'"
Tsunade gave a small half-laugh, half-sob at those words. "Sakura was dangerous enough with her strength, now she has exploding clay?"
"I guess we should be glad she isn't emotional like she used to be, ne?" Shizune whispered softly.
"…hai."
"'I can mold it into a b-bird, but it doesn't look v-very good. Art was never my forte. B-but it can still fly. Not very well, of course. You'd l-laugh at it. It's rather pathetic.'"
Deidara smiled to himself as he remembered Sakura's first few attempts. "She's right. They looked horrible in the beginning, yeah."
"Deidara, stop laughing at it!" Sakura pouted. "It's flying, isn't it?"
"It looks like its having a seizure, yeah." That merely got him a hit on the head. He gave a frown, rubbing the bump as he whined, "I didn't mean it that way, kitten."
"Ha!" Sakura stuck her nose in the air, eyes closed as she tried to ignore him. "Laugh and jest all you want. You're just jealous." Then she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, giving a grin as she burst into laughter.
He loved her laughter.
"At least this one isn't twitching as much, yeah."
"Kisame, surprisingly enough, is teaching me s-swordplay. Kisame gave me a rather p-pitiful imitation of Samehada to practice with. But it's heavy. I n-now know how Zabuza must have felt.'"
Kisame gave a grin. "She must have written this before we finished those arm exercises. She hated me for that."
"Well, you did make her do push ups while sitting on her, yeah. You aren't the lightest person in the world." Deidara smiled. He ignored Kisame's hateful stare. The other shinobi in the room merely stared at the four of them.
Shizune tapped the IV needle before she slid it into Sakura's arm with fingers that shook.
"'Sasori made me this adorable geisha doll. I haven't named her yet, although I suppose I should. If you think of any ideas, let me know. She's small, about a foot or so high, but Sasori taught me a special jutsu that let's me alter her size. This will help if I want to carry her around, I guess.'"
Tsunade's hands clenched into fists as she looked down at Sakura.
"'My days are usually the same: training, training, training. It's like being a genin all over again. But I love it. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I've always loved learning more than teaching. I guess it's a good thing I didn't try and become a sensei. That would have been a disaster, ne?'"
Tsunade shook her head with a frown. You would have been a great sensei.
Tsunade leaned her elbows against her desk, lacing her fingers together. "So? Have you thought about it?"
Sakura nodded from where she sat in her chair in front of the Hokage's desk. "I've thought about it."
"Sakura, both myself and Kakashi believe that you are up for the position. But, we won't push it on you. Do you want to become a sensei or not?"
Sakura looked down at her hands. "I don't know, Tsunade-shishou."
"You're good with children. And you're good at teaching people, Sakura." Tsunade smiled. "Remember when I sent you to Sand to help teach their medic-nin staff a new jutsu?"
"Hai."
"They said you were very helpful. You gained their trust, and you answered all of their questions. You never got angry with them for doing something wrong, either. You just showed them how to correct it." Tsunade looked at her closely, trying to catch her eyes.
"You've proved that you're ready."
"I don't feel ready." Sakura whispered.
"Why not?"
"I'm not strong enough."
Slam. Tsunade glared at her student from across the table as the books that had been resting on the corner fell off and onto the floor. "Sakura, I thought that after you started wearing your headband on your forehead you had gotten it through your thick skull that you were a strong, capable shinobi."
"No doubt that there are others stronger than I am." Sakura answered back evenly. Tsunade knew she was talking about Sasuke and Naruto. She'd always been in their shadow.
"Sakura…" Tsunade rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Don't you think that gaining a genin team will help you decide whether or not you are truly strong? That you have what it takes?"
Sakura raised one eyebrow, before she sighed. "Oh, very well, Tsunade-shishou. But we both know, I'm a better student then I am a teacher."
Tsunade grinned triumphantly. "We'll just have to see."
They all turned to look at Naruto, because he had stopped reading. He was staring down at the scroll but he wasn't reading anymore. He looked up at Itachi for a moment, and their eyes met.
"'Itachi took me to a shrine.'"
All eyes rested on the older Uchiha brother. He remained indifferent, his eyes never leaving the scroll. He looked to be deep in thought. They, however, knew that after mentioning the other Akatsuki members, it only made sense Sakura would mention Itachi.
Itachi and Sakura walked silently into the clearing. The sunlight played off of her pastel pink hair as she turned to him with a patient smile. "I'll only be a few minutes, I guess."
"Hn."
He watched as she walked into the shrine, her footsteps quiet. As if she were afraid to tread any louder in the area. As if it were truly holy.
Nothing was sacred.
Itachi wondered how on earth she had managed to drag him to this place.
He leaned against a tree trunk, waiting. He didn't know how long he stood there, listening to the soft murmur of Sakura's prayers mixed with the tinkling of the chimes that hung at the shrine door.
It was oddly peaceful.
She finally came out, wiping a few tears from her cheek with her sleeve, as if she didn't want him to see. He supposed that was close to the truth. She gave him a warm smile and a strange look he couldn't decipher as they began walking.
The silence was comfortable. That was one of the things that Itachi enjoyed about spending time with Sakura Haruno. She knew just who to talk to and when to talk. Unlike some people.
"'When we came to the shrine, I said a small prayer, lighting the incense. I think Itachi thought praying at a shrine was a stupid practice, but he didn't say anything as he stood outside, waiting for me to finish.'"
Did they see a small smirk flash across Itachi's face, or had they been imagining it? For it disappeared as quickly as it came.
Itachi didn't understand the strange curiosity that was slowly bubbling up inside him. He didn't know why it was there. Why on earth would he care, after all? But…he did, unfortunately.
"Who did you pray for?"
Sakura looked up at him, and her confused glance turned into an understanding, slightly amused one. As if she found his question amusing.
"Curious?"
"Hn."
She merely touched his arm so that he looked down at her. She gave him a secretive smile.
"I prayed for everyone who needed it."
And that was the only answer he got. He didn't ask again.
"'I prayed for a-all of y-you. For my mother and father, Tsunade-sama, Ino H-hinata, all of my old friends…my new ones…Kakashi-s-sensei…but most of all…I prayed for y-you and Sasuke…"
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence.
"'Th-that you'll be happy, Naruto. That you'll become Hokage one day like you want to. You can do it. And that Sasuke will find some closure. I want him to be at peace now, Naruto. Tell him that, will you? I want him to be happy, for once. He's never laughed. I want him to laugh.'"
Everyone looked to the younger Uchiha now. He was staring down at the ground, but his shoulders shook slightly.
Two tears splashed onto the linoleum floor.
"I prayed he'd give up his thoughts of revenge against Itachi. There's no point. He's only going to get himself hurt again. I prayed…that if he found the Akatsuki, he'd just take my life and be done with it…'"
"'…a-and be h-happy again…to smile…that's a-all I want.'"
All you ever wanted was for everyone else to be happy, wasn't it, Sakura? Kakashi gave a small sigh. If only…if only that were possible…
Naruto's eyes narrowed and his voice became angry as he shouted.
"'I want you all t-to be happy, dammit! Can't you do that for me? All my life everyone's been so worried about me. They were trying so hard to make me smile and keep my happy. But they should have been trying to help out you and Sasuke instead. They should have seen that you needed more love than I did!'"
He was breathing deeply, trying to control himself. The others didn't know what to do. They just waited for him to continue. He had to continue. They had to know what else she had said…
"'But we can't turn back time, Naruto. And I don't know I'd want to change time anyway. I don't know if you can forgive me for what I've done, Naruto. I know it would be hard for me to understand if you or Sasuke left me. But…then again, you did leave me."
Naruto's voice took on a dry tone.
"'So I suppose there isn't really an excuse, is there?'"
Sasuke and Naruto felt guilt well up inside them.
"'I don't know. Nothing is certain to me anymore. I take every day as it comes. And I think that's how we should all live…in that small margin of hours that we call a day.'"
Tsunade looked up as the machine began beeping rapidly and the medics began panicking, their voices urgent as one of them yelled for some fresh help.
"'So many things can change…so many hearts can be broken…so many l-lives can be r-ruined…and y-yet, so many people can find a place where they belong…'"
"SAKURA!" Tsunade yelled, slamming chakra into her apprentice. "Hold on! SAKURA!"
"We're losing her!" Shizune shrieked. "Where are those replacement medics!?!?!"
"'Naruto, this is p-probably hard to read.'"
And to listen to.
"'I know it's hard to understand them still. To understand me. But please…I b-beg you…just try and understand. That's all I ask. Think it over and…and then decide whether or not you hate me.'"
"Dammit! Sakura!" Tsunade cursed, feeling the tears rush down her cheeks. "Just hold on…please…"
Shizune had never heard Tsunade sound so desperate.
"'with all my love, forever and ever,'"
Shizune and Tsunade stared down at the young woman, as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Tsunade-shishou…I…"
"Sakura…" Tsunade gripped her hand tightly.
"…I have a request, Tsunade-shishou…"
"'Sakura Haruno…'"
The door slowly slid open and everyone turned to look at Tsunade.
"'…your Sakura-chan…'"
Naruto finished in a whisper, eyes closed as the tears spilled down his cheeks. He and the others looked at Tsunade.
It would have been better for them if she were crying. Then, at least, they would know what she was thinking.
But her eyes were hard, and her face was contorted as if she were forcing herself to keep from crying.
"Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked hesitantly.
Tsunade merely let her eyes wander to all of them, wondering if they knew what she was about to say as she forced herself to say it.
…
…
…
"I'm sorry. She didn't make it."
What could be said? They all merely stared at her, dumbfounded. And that was when denial set in.
"B-but, but you're the best…the best medic-nin in existence." Neji stood up. "Don't tell me you couldn't do anything!"
"Neji!" Tenten grabbed his arm. "Sit down."
"Tsunade-baachan…" Naruto looked up at her, blue eyes swimming with tears. "She's…she's gone?"
Tsunade clenched her fists as she looked down at the ground. "Hai."
"But, Sakura-chan is strong, yeah." Deidara gave a small laugh. "She wouldn't die."
"Stop fucking lying to us, Tsunade-sama!" Ino yelled.
Everyone turned to the young girl. She was standing, biting her lip as she hugged herself. "Sakura is NOT dead. Sakura CAN'T be dead. We always said we'd die when we were old…w-we'd die with all of our family a-around us with our g-grandchildren and our husbands a-and…" She slumped down to the ground.
"It's not fair."
"We got her back only to lose her again…" Kakashi whispered more to himself then to the others.
"Sakura made one request." Tsunade began, looking at the Akatsuki. "And I decided I would go through with that request. She asked that I let the Akatsuki leave here without any trouble…"
The four Akatsuki members turned to her, three in surprise, one indifferent.
"If you leave now, I promise that I will not send my ANBU after you. As long as you get out. If I ever see you in Konoha again, however, I will not hesitate to have you killed." She blamed them. How could she not? If they had never captured Sakura in the first place…none of this would have happened.
Itachi met her eyes coldly, and Tsunade wondered if she'd made the right choice. She wondered at Sakura's last words, and she couldn't see what Sakura saw, no matter how hard she looked.
Itachi turned to look at Naruto. Crimson met tear-stained blue.
And then Itachi was heading to the door, picking up his kunai pack.
"Let's go."
And they went.
All of the Konoha shinobi merely watched them go, their eyes distant and empty. There were no tears now, just stunned silence.
Nothing.
They walked slowly through the forest, the birds chirping as they went. There was no rain. Just sunshine and warmth. A soft wind blew.
Deidara lifted his sleeve, brushing the lone tear that fell down his face.
She was gone.
Sakura-chan…I'll never forget you. I know you couldn't love me like I loved you, but you were there for me. You were a friend and you cared. I never knew anyone could care about us like you did, yeah.
Sasori held onto the puppet underneath his cloak tightly. Its arm hit his chest as he walked, but he ignored it.
Haruno-san, you were a most interesting person. You tried to understand and accept us in a way that no one else would. You tried to prove to others that we were not monsters.
Do I agree with you? I don't know.
But I thank you for trying.
"Dammit…" Kisame gave a loud curse, sending the birds in the trees fluttering into the air. "We were too late. That bastard Tomokazu!"
Too late…always too late…
Kitten…I'm sorry we couldn't get there faster. I guess we won't be able to continue our training after all.
Itachi stared ahead of him.
Tomokazu. You were right. You did indeed claim Sakura. You took her away from me, even after your death.
…the Kyuubi didn't read all of the letter. Was there more? He looked to me when he paused. Was that letter why the idiot kept staring at me the entire time we were traveling together?
It does not matter.
"Accept it."
Everyone looked to Itachi.
"Sakura Haruno was killed. She was merely a member of Akatsuki. There is no need to mourn."
"My, my, I'm glad I mean so much to you, Itachi. I wouldn't want you to shed any unnecessary tears," Came a teasing voice from ahead of them. They all turned to look at the person standing at the end of the road, hands on hips.
"…it couldn't be…" Deidara whispered to himself.
Itachi looked up at the figure, and there was a long moment of silence, as jade met crimson.
(A\N: Well? Two more chapters, I think. And then…then Crimson Reflections will end. I'm almost dreading the moment. However, I have a surprise for everyone: I'm continuing the story! This will indeed become an Ita\Saku trilogy.
But, so you don't get disappointed, there will indeed be a lemon in this story, so don't think you'll have to wait until the next one. In fact, the lemon is in the next chapter! Well, that's about it.
As I promised, two questions!
# 1: Is it possible for someone to become addicted to therapy? And If so, how would you treat them?
#2: How come the bullets that work are fired, and the ones that don't work are not?)