Title: Hopes Replaced

Date: 9/13/2010; 3:18p.m.

Soundtrack: This River Is Wild (The Killers)

"Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies."

-Henri Frederic Amiel

"Grandma, why did the girl let them both leave?"

Straightening to place the little girl on the ground again, the older woman looked off the porch to see where the water ornaments made soothing sounds. If only life had been so simple back then, she concluded with a slight smile.

"She couldn't have stopped them. Both of those boys had to grow up, each in different ways. They all had a lot of growing to do. The boy she loved had no regard for the people who cared for him-and what better place to learn how important it was to cherish the people you love than with a man who tried to segregate you from all emotion but anger?"

Sasuke had been a fool, the old woman recalled with a fond smile. He had made so many mistakes, but they were his to make. It wasn't as if Naruto's incessant goading had made it easy to do the right thing, anyway.

"It's still not fair," her granddaughter concluded petulantly. "Why did the other boy have to leave, then? He could have stayed, and they would have been happy!"

Kindly running her hand through the child's hair, the old woman set her chair to rocking again.

Remaining motionless only reminded her how much her bones ached with age and the coming cold. At least with the gentle sway of the seat, the discomfort abated.

"There were lessons to learn for everyone then back then. If he hadn't left, then she wouldn't have been able to grow, either."

"But-!"

"Now, don't you want to hear how the story goes?"

There was so much memory in those days. As the years passed and her senses dulled with age, the woman was forced to spend more and more of her time in thought of the past. How Tsunade and Jiraiya had managed to remain so active in the face of the onslaught of age was a mystery.

But it was a feat that had not been relegated to them alone.

Power would never forget the form it belonged to, or belonged in. Even decades after the last monumental strike, the hand never forgot how to hold the blade.

Once a weapon, always a weapon.

"Grandma, can't you just tell me how it ends? You can tell me all about how she ended up with the stupid boy who thought he had to leave to avenge his clan, and how they lived happily after!"

She laughed, and remembered the days when she was so hurry to rush into a future she had no hopes of comprehending. Really, the young wanted to be old and the old wished for their youth. It was the way such things went, she supposed.

"Now, now," the old woman chided gently, "what meaning does the end have for you if you don't know what it took to get there?"

. . . . .

"You know I can only ask you to do this, Sakura."

The early morning air was cold and still. Somehow, the grips of winter still fought to hold on into early spring. It made these pre-dawn meetings more pleasant when held in a building, a conventional room with a desk and chairs.

However, no one had ever dared to say that the Lady Tsunade was anything remotely close to being considered orthodox.

Really, how could she have been? The woman was the sole survivor of her team. In all actuality, the blonde was the last remnant of an era that was slowly being lost to memory.

She had seen the ravages of two Great Ninja Wars, she had seen the reign of three Hokage before her. Tsunade had managed to survive where so many had fallen-but the price she paid, in regret, was a staggering toll.

They made a fitting pair, found upon the roof of the Hokage tower in the grey dusk. The sun had not managed to rouse itself from its slumber, and even the Anbu were unawares that their cherished charge had managed to slip the leash.

Of course, Tsunade did so with alarming frequency, but that was neither here nor there.

"I understand, Lady Tsunade."

The contrast of voices was startling-perhaps all the more surprising for the chilling similarities between the two. There was weight, and weariness; they could not shake the compelling sorrow that chased at their heels. Even with decades between them, the fifty six year old Hokage and the eighteen year old jonin had lived their lives in a parallel existence.

"Just think about it, Sakura. I know it's hard, but we need it. We need you."

How long, Sakura wondered, had she sought those words? For how many years had she craved the affirmation that she was needed, wanted, that she wasn't a burden?
And yet, in the instant it was finally given, the girl had moved beyond such menial desires.

It was three years ago that she realized she was something special. She alone had held the body of Chiyo as the old woman's form grew cold after reviving the Kazekage. While everyone else celebrated life, Sakura was left in the privacy of her mind to lament death.

She had killed Sasori, taken on tailed beasts, killed those who would have overtaken Konoha and the things she loved. Sakura had healed friends, saving them from their own destruction, and had kept her mentor safe when political regimes would have seen Tsunade dead while she lay helpless in her coma.

There was so much that she had done-and failed to do.

There were so many things that had to be finished.

For all of those things, though, Sakura knew the truth.

She would never be more than a supplement to any greater action.

When Tsunade had called her to attendance this morning, the young woman was curious, but wary. As the dogmatic Hokage stood overlooking leaf, her apprentice found a curious chill of apprehension creeping down her spine.

Perhaps it was feminine intuition, or maybe it was self preservation. No matter what it was, Sakura's instincts told her that she would not enjoy this conversation.

The Godaime was silent, joined by her one-time apprentice, now both contemporary and confidant. Konoha was truly beautiful and there was no other pair more able to recognize it, more worthy of seeing it as these two women who had sacrificed everything for it.

No matter how much they had done, there was still something more to give.

Could she do it, Sakura wondered? Could she give up active duty as a ninja and become an ambassador? She could kill-and had proven it time and time again. That was not unusual. Certainly, the manner in which she managed it was slightly unusual, but it was not word of her battles that spread far and wide, overtaking distant corners of remote countries.

It was her skills as a medic.

Anyone could kill, be it ninja or common thief. It took something else entirely to put the body back together, piece by piece. As Sakura came into her full maturity, Tsunade thought with part-contentment and part nostalgia, that she had been surpassed.

Every aspect of the Sannin had been.

Orochimaru was the first to perish, at the hands of his student. Jiraiya was the next to go. The little red-headed boy that he had saved all those years ago brought his death-but the white haired sage had been content in his passing.

It had meaning, you see. If, in his death, he could ease Naruto's quest then it was a worthy battle lost.

Would she, too, pass by the hands of a student? Between Shizune and Sakura Tsunade doubted it. Where men grew up and grew apart, they had been able to find solace in one another's company. At least there was comfort in knowing that none of them were forced into solitude, although they were no less alone for it.

Sakura's sigh drew Tsunade's attention back to her, as the pink haired girl straightened, seeing the gleam of sun sliver over the horizon. Watching the village slowly be painted in gold, the girl knew one thing with any great certainty.

If she needed to become an emblem of the Leaf, it would be done. If in the course of traveling and healing, as a token of good will, Sakura could smooth the way for Naruto, soften the loathing of the Uchiha who was still a missing-nin, then there was no question.

"There is no asking to it," Sakura remarked softly, eyes gleaming with flecks of gold from sunrise. "You have done a remarkable job of it for as long as you have, but I can do no less."

Years before Tsunade thought that the pink haired girl would be the best of them all. Sakura had it in her to defy the destiny that fate was so stubbornly writing for her. With her determination to make a difference, to not be surpassed, the then-genin had given the Godaime hope.

Now, though, the blonde couldn't help but feel that her apprentice was hurdling down the path to her own destruction. What was more, she was embracing it willingly.

Really, though, how could Tsunade say anything about it?
She had done no less.

A/N: Well, here's the second chapter. I'm hoping to garner a little more interest in this story if I manage to put up another chapter. I may even be able to spit out a third late tonight (in my desperate attempt to deny the fact that school starts tomorrow).

As you can gather, the start continues the scene we were introduced to the story with in the first chapter. However, the story that continues, focusing on Tsunade and Sakura this time, takes place some years after the first bit in the first chapter. If you hadn't guessed, it takes place sometime after the invasion of Konoha, the Kage Summit, etc. As I don't know the canon events after that, I'm leaving it vague. Just know that Sakura&Co are all 18, Sasuke is still a missing-nin, Naruto is still determined to bring him back (and/or die with him) and Tsunade is still the Hokage. I won't really touch on Madara because that's not the significant part of this story.

It's not a story about adventure, but one of personal growth and realizations.

This chapter really focuses on the notion of sacrifice. There is a quote I love, but I have used it for another story I've published here. It reads as follows. "Sacrifice still exists everywhere, and everywhere the elect of each generation suffers for the salvation of the rest." I feel that aptly sums up what occurs here. Sakura continues to sacrifice her own ambitions (see team seven redeemed) and her personal actions (actively going out to try to get Sasuke) for the ones she loves. If she can promote good will between countries and foster hospitality between individuals, then it makes the redemption that much easier-even if she suffers more for it.

Anyway, drop me a line! Opinions? Suggestions? Guesses as to what the "twist" of this entire story is? (There was one really significant clue in this chapter!) I'd love to hear from you! I've done my best to avoid mistakes but this is unbeta'd. As always, if I've made an error let me know!