Wow. I was so overwhelmed with the positive response I had for the previous chapter! Thank you all so much! Also, I would like to thank the few people who found something off with the chapter, and instead of just flaming offered their opinion and suggestions – KasonSama, Impatiens Psittacina - so thank you guys for that! If something is still off, feel free to PM me or mention it in your review!
As for flamers… hm, no comment for you.
Anyway, I apologise if the previous chapter didn't quite meet your expectations – I admit, I did rush it slightly as I really wanted to get it out for you before I left to go to camp. Let's see if this one is better!
I cracked my eyes open only to immediately shut them as bright light assaulted my senses. After a few seconds, I tried again, this time slower, letting my eyes adjust to the incredible whiteness of the room. I looked around only to realize that I was in the hospital. I winced when I tried to – unsuccessfully – get out of the bed; my body felt like it'd been tossed and turned in a washing machine, and my headache definitely didn't like the constant beeping of the heart-rate monitor. Frowning, I tugged at the tubes sticking out of me until I pulled all of them out, feeling slightly better once the room turned quiet.
I heard a sigh next to me. "I should've known that would be the first thing you'd do when you woke up." I turned my head to face the owner of the voice and was surprised to see Izaya-sensei staring at me, half in amusement, half in worry. "How are you feeling, Sakura-chan?" he questioned, his voice quiet and hoarse.
I considered his question; my head ached and I felt slightly nauseous, I couldn't move my hand without wincing, my side felt like someone had burned it, and my chest hurt with every breath I took, but overall, yes, I was in pain, but I felt fine. Well, better than I expected.
"Not too bad." I replied, shocked at the croakiness of my voice. Sensei didn't look convinced. "Why? Did something happen?" I asked, genuinely concerned.
Sensei sighed again and shook his head, probably the most serious I'd ever seen him. "You've been in a coma for two weeks, Sakura-chan." He whispered. I blinked, his words not making much sense to my clouded mind. Two weeks? "One of the kunai had pierced a lung, not to mention the chakra exhaustion you exposed yourself to when you used your chakra to… carry us. The med-nins were surprised you survived."
I stiffened at his words, but there was something much more important at the moment that my unexpected survival. "What about Akane and Kaoru? They were more beaten up than I was, and so were you, sensei. What happened?" I questioned, anxious to hear about my teammates' condition. "Both of them are fine, still awaiting dismissal. Kaoru's genjutsu backfired, and it shook him up quite a lot mentally, but I think it only fuelled his desire to expand his abilities beyond that of genjutsu. As for Akane… he's beating himself up over the fact that he was the first to fall unconscious. He's perfectly fine; his cuts were healed immediately, as was his ankle. And I'm here, Sakura-chan. Alive and breathing, though that might not last for very long – it's my fault all of you were injured. But… I couldn't just run, not after, not after that time…" Sensei added the last part quietly, but I still heard. He took a deep, shuddering breath, but made no move to continue.
"What happened 'that time', sensei?" I prompted, curious.
"I… I guess I do owe you an explanation, even if you are my student." He took a deep breath and began his tale. "I was on an ANBU team with Uchiha Itachi, his cousin, my brother and… your father." He started, pausing to check my reaction. I kept my face carefully blank, waiting for him to continue. "It was a similar situation – we had completed the mission set, and we were on our way back to Konoha when we were ambushed. About fifty ninja, all jounin or higher, wearing the Kiri headband. Fifty against five – not the most favourable odds. Your father, a jounin mysteriously assigned to an ANBU team proposed we split up and lead them into the traps we had planted around the perimeter. But Uchiha-taichou said the odds were too great, and that it would be too much of a risk to split up. He ordered us to run, saying that we'd be safe once we crossed the border of the Fire Country. However, when we turned to run, one of the men came after us, and when he realised he couldn't catch us up, he threw a kunai. It was stupid, so, so stupid; even an ape could chuck something, and there would be a 50% chance he hit his target. The kunai was heading in my direction, but since I was only a kid at the time, I froze up and was too paralyzed to move. Shizuo-nii noticed that, and he pushed me out of the way, deflecting the kunai, but what he didn't realise was that the Kiri-nin had predicted that his weapon would be deflected, so in the few seconds it took my brother to react, he'd moved closer and stabbed him with a sword. The Uchiha kid acted immediately, decapitating the man, but the damage was done. My brother lay dead at my feet, and it was my entire fault."
Finally he stopped, and my heart clenched when I saw the tears which had gathered in his eyes. "That's why I couldn't bring myself to run away this time. I thought… I thought that if we faced them, history wouldn't repeat itself. But it did, and I endangered your lives because of my paranoia. I'm sorry. I'm a terrible sensei." He hung his head in shame.
I shook my head, my eyes wide at the story and his confession. "No, no sensei. I'm sorry. I had no idea that you- that we had-" I paused and tried to collect my thoughts. "History didn't repeat itself. We're all alive."
Sensei smiled through his tears. "Ah, you're right. And yet I'm crying like a baby… How did I even become a jounin? I'm so weak." He mumbled the last part. Suddenly, I was reminded of what dad always used to tell me every time I hid from him to cry alone.
"Hey, sensei… People cry not because they're weak, but because they've been strong for too long. It's OK to let go once in a while." I smiled reassuringly, awaiting his reaction. To my surprise, he chuckled weakly.
"You really are too much like your dad." He muttered. "Which reminds me; the Hokage wishes to see you once you're stable enough to walk."
I nodded and tried getting out of bed, this time succeeding. "Oh, and Sakura?" I looked over my shoulder at Izaya-sensei. "When you're done, come to Room 130. Akane and Kaoru are there."
I smiled, grabbed my clothes on my way and limped out of the door, curious as to what the Hokage could want with someone like me.
I stood outside the Hokage's office, nervously debating whether I should run while I still had the chance. Eh, I can't think of anything he could want from me… I decided to just go in and get it over with, so I knocked, and waited for the reply.
"Come in." came the Hokage's voice. I obeyed and stepped in, looking around, I spotted the three Elders sitting behind the Hokage. I stifled a groan, the memory of the male Elder throwing a kunai at me during my first time in the office still fresh in my mind. "Ah, Sakura-chan. Glad you're feeling better."
"Hokage-sama." I bowed respectfully. "Thank you. Why did you summon me, may I ask?" I questioned carefully.
"I'd just like to talk with you about the mission. Your sensei already handed in a written report, and I also had the report from the group of jounin who were traveling by, but I'd like to hear about it from you, to get the full picture, if you don't mind."
My eye twitched in annoyance. "If there were jounin nearby, why did none of them come to help, Hokage-sama?" I asked, struggling to remain polite with the knowledge of possible back-up which did not appear.
The Third's expression turned grim. "The jounin arrived after the battle, Sakura-chan. Their report only described the destruction, not the people who caused it, as your chakra signatures had already faded away, they couldn't follow."
I nodded with fake understanding. But inside I was bristling with anger. So what if they couldn't follow! They should've sent for back-up anyway!
"Do you mind if I start the questioning now?" I shook my head, no. "Right. Answer honestly, and with detail. Firstly, what happened to the ninjas that attacked you?" The Sandaime began.
"Dead." I deadpanned, not in the mood to recall everything that took place. The horror of it all was still too fresh in my mind.
"Dead? How?" the Hokage enquired. Right, details. He wants details.
"After I jumped in to stop the ninja killing my teammate, I killed all of the ones who came at me. Kunai to the throat; blocked chakra point; obliterated skull. Sensei was handling the ninja who weren't fighting me, but he was soon overwhelmed and rendered unconscious. I was left to fight them on my own – once I was done, I burned their corpses to make sure they wouldn't come after us." I winced at the last sentence, remembering the paranoia which overtook my senses, the intense fear that they will get up and attack when I was the most vulnerable.
Silence filled the room at that confession.
"…I see. I would like you to come to my office again tomorrow – I'll have someone escort you downstairs."
"Why, Hokage-sama?" I asked, truly perplexed.
"We need to run a psych exam. After such an event you might me unstab-"
"You're calling me crazy because I saved my teammates?!" I shrieked, in indignation.
"It's not a matter of what you did; it's how you did it, Sakura-chan." The God of Shinobi defended, trying to sound stern.
That earned him a raised eyebrow from yours truly. "And how, pray tell, was I supposed to save my teammates without disposing of the enemy?" I asked.
"There are ways of stopping the enemy which do not involve killing them."
"With all due respect, Sandaime-sama: those men were most probably missing-nin, if they had enough nerve to threaten a freshly-renewed alliance. Had I not killed them, they could have been seriously disastrous for Konoha's trade and import; as well as the lives of our shinobi. Also, missing-nin tend to become bounty hunters, and therefore thieves too. Simply imprisoning them wouldn't work – men like that have connections." I gave him a, what I thought to be, fool-proof justification from the top of my head.
A steely expression stole over the Hokage's face. "You're eight, Sakura-san. Also, disposing of ninja without direct instruction to do so is a violation of the Shinobi Codex, one which you swore to honour when you became a ninja."
Oh, so he was going to pull the Shinobi Codex on me? Fine.
"The shinobi codex was put together by Konohagakure's Hokage. They wrote in it the qualities which every self-respecting ninja should have." I started. When the Hokage remained silent, I took it as a cue to continue. "Wouldn't it make sense to include the Yondaime's self-appointed rule?" when the Sandaime paled, I couldn't help but feel almost malicious pleasure at driving the God of Shinobi into his own trap. "A ninja who breaks the rules is trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"
I walked into Room 130 with a confident smirk on my face, but, before I could even react, I was tackled to the ground by a flash of red. Oh no…
"Pinky! You're alive!" Akane's oh-so-annoying voice right next to my ear was not the best greeting in the world.
"Calm down, Akane. You're suffocating her." Kaoru's quiet voice reached my ears, somehow clearer than the redhead's animated chatter. I peeked over Akane's shoulder, sending a somewhat pleading look at the brunette. He sighed, before delivering a swift kick to the boy's side, forcing the redhead to get off of me, and offered me a hand, which I took gratefully.
"Owww! That hurt, Kaoru-chan!" Akane whined while rolling on the floor pitifully.
"Deal with it, Baka." The brunette growled playfully, smirking at the redhead. He walked me over to one of the beds, then proceeded to jump on it, immediately crawling under the soft duvet, and I couldn't help but find the action incredibly cute. Deciding to not voice my thoughts, I sat down by his feet, my eyes scanning the room to see if sensei was already there. He was. Once Akane joined us – pushing Kaoru to the side so he could crawl in beside him – we all faced Izaya-sensei, who looked quite nervous, but determined.
"I wanted to talk with you about the mission, and your… inability to work as a team." He took a deep, calming breath before continuing. "Do you mean to tell me that you still think you're ready for missions like that? C-Ranks turning out to be A-Ranks where your entire team had almost died?"
We sat in silence, the playful, relaxed atmosphere from before gone. For once, none of us dared interrupt one of sensei's speeches.
"Or, maybe, you mean to tell me that you can still go on like you are now, a random bunch of individuals? You don't even deserve to be called a team. When I first saw you, it was clear that all of you were here for your own, personal reasons, regardless of the situation. You almost died because you were too selfish to work together! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"
I barely restrained myself from openly gaping at the man. Not too long ago, he was telling me how sorry he was for endangering our lives, but now he said that our lives were endangered because we didn't work together? Where's the logic in that? How can someone change their opinions so quickly?
It seemed my teammates were just as surprised, as silence reigned in the room. Even Akane who always seemed to go around undermining his authorities for fun sat quietly, nervously fidgeting under sensei's accusatory stare.
Finally, the silence was broken by Kaoru. "I can understand the source of your distress, Izaya-sensei." The brunette began quietly. "However, what I don't understand is why you're making such a big deal out of it." He ignored Akane's gasp at his bluntness and continued. "It was, after all, at your order that we attacked, and it was you who gave the order without checking the opponent's skill level first. You left Sakura-chan behind when she asked you to run, but now you're blaming US for being irresponsible?" his voice raised, and I noticed sensei was looking at Kaoru like he'd grown a second head. But the brunette was oblivious to the stare, and if he noticed, he ignored it in favour of continuing. "A team also needs a leader, and if you're not going to take that position, then how do you expect us to work together with nobody to lead us in the right direction?"
Once again, the room was enveloped in silence as we absorbed Kaoru's words and the implications behind them. It seemed like the team was broken – I had listened to Izaya-sensei's story, and even felt sorry for him. I was ready to learn from the traumatic experience once I knew the reasons, ready to forgive him for risking our lives. But now, when he turned on us, I found it hard to believe this was the same man whom I had talked to in the morning.
And then my teammates were so out of character, Akane being unusually quiet and sullen while Kaoru spoke out against our sensei. The world was coming to an end, I decided.
Kaoru cleared his throat. "I apologise for my harsh words, but I believe that it was important to address the issue. I think; I hope, that I speak on the behalf of Team 13 and whatever is to become of its future."
Izaya-sensei looked us all in the eyes. "And what so you think, Sakura, Akane?"
I met his gaze head on. "I agree with Kaoru, sensei."
Akane seemed to snap out of his daze as he nodded. "Yeah, I agree with Kaoru-chan, as impossible as it sounds." He added.
"So you all agree with him, even if it means going against me, your sensei?" he asked. I nodded, my eyes never leaving his even as I spoke.
"A part of a sensei's job is lead, and pass on his experience." I stated. Kaoru nodded along. "Hai, and even with all your speeches about teamwork, you still didn't object when Akane suggested we leave Sakura at the camp." I winced. Why did everybody keep bringing that up?
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Akane was looking down at his hands, a guilty expression on his face. "Hey, what's done is done." I nudged him with a grin as his gaze snapped up to me and his eyes widened at the fact that I was actually comforting him. But I wasn't finished. "Seriously, don't think too much about it or your head might implode."
It took the redhead only a few seconds to register my words before he blushed in indignation. "OI!" and as I stuck my tongue out at him, a rare indication that I was still a child, everyone laughed, diffusing the tension. And when sensei apologised for his accusations, saying that he was only curious as to our reaction and would never, ever hold us responsible for what happened, I smiled.
Maybe there was still hope for our team, after all.
The dismissal from hospital three days later came as a blessing. I was unaware of the fact that the whole village seemed to have found out about our mission-gone-wrong and now everywhere we went people would stare at us, or ask me to demonstrate the chakra-bed-thingy. I politely declined every time, saying that it was just a fitting solution to the moment, since, after all, necessity is the mother of invention. What people failed to notice was that imperceptible wince I gave every time someone mentioned the mission. I still remembered what my teammates were lucky enough not to see; the corpses, the screams, the stink of burning flesh… I shivered. It definitely left a scar on my mentality, but be it from pride, or the fact that I liked my job too much to let it go, when I went in for that psych exam, I answered all of the questions as normally as possible, even if on the inside my mind was coming up with completely, worryingly different answers.
Since all of our injuries had healed, and our bond as a team had tightened, we were back on active duty, ready to take on more C-Ranks, and Akane had already started begging Izaya-sensei to let us tr our luck with a B-Rank, but so far, sensei remained firm.
"Senseiiiiii~! Please! Don't be so mean!" The redhead wailed as sensei once again rejected his plea. Suddenly, he received a slap to his head, courtesy of Kaoru. "Shut up, Bakakane. You're giving me a headache." The brunette sighed tiredly.
"Waaa! Only pinky loves me!" he exclaimed as he ran to tackle me, but I side-stepped his hug at the very last moment, making him fall to the ground. "In your dreams, Carrot-boy." I teased.
"Why do all of you hate me?" he questioned pitifully, but I could see that he was restraining himself from grinning. When no one answered him, he huffed. "Fine. Be that way. I'm going to my home. At least there someone loves me." He muttered sulkily, but he suddenly perked up. "Hey, Pinky, when we were at the hospital, Kaoru's mom came over, and my old man even visited for a few minutes, but none of us ever saw your parents…?" he trailed off, unsure. I stiffened, but guessed it was time to tell them the truth.
"That's because I'm an orphan, Akane. I've been living alone for a good three years now." I said, a neutral expression on my face. His eyes widened. "S-Sorry, pinky!" he apologised. "I didn't know-!"
"It's OK. A chunin comes over about once every three months to see if everything is going well, if I'm managing the bills and if the state of my house is still decent. I'm not alone, so I'm fine, really."
Akane breathed a sigh of relief, but I felt a hand settle on my shoulder. I looked up to see Kaoru standing behind me, looking at me with a smile on his face. "Even so, we can't just let you celebrate our first mission outside of the village alone. I'm inviting you both to my house for dinner. You too, sensei, if you can make it."
I felt a genuine smile bloom on my face, and I didn't have it in my heart to decline the invitation. "I'll be there, Kaoru. Thank you." I muttered.
"No problem, Sakura-chan. Friends look out for each other, right, Bakakane?" he asked. The redhead nodded vigorously. "You bet, Kaoru-chan!"
Well, here is. Hope you enjoyed, and I would love to hear your opinions in a review!
By the way, Bakakane is a combination of Baka – idiot, and Akane's name, therefore creating BakAkane.
Thank you once again, and see you all next chapter!
~Love,
Invincible Shadow