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For me, my funniest moment will be Neji and Gai- Stare of Teamwork. Youtube it if you're interested. ("Hmmmmmmm")
000000000 PLEASE LOOK AT THE POLL BELOW AFTER THIS CHAPTER.
3 years ago, night before everything changed.
"Ne, Sai, pass me the salt! Stop hogging it!"
"Certainly, Dickless," Sai responded pleasantly, a smile pasted on his face.
"Dickless? Why, you bas-"
"Okay, stop it guys. I did not invite you to my house for dinner for you to ruin it," their only pink-haired member said sternly as she shot warning glares at both parties, chewing on a piece of onigiri at the same time. Her jade eyes travelled to the other members sitting silently at the table and she raised an eyebrow.
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou… not going to eat?"
A deep, rumbling laughter came from her ex-sensei while he flipped a page of his book, his elbows propped lazily on the table as he continued reading. Much to Sakura's chagrin, her question did not prompt him to resolve his hold on it.
"Sakura-chan, I have already eaten." With widened eyes, both Naruto and Sakura stood up abruptly from their seats to peer at his bowl.
He hadn't been lying. It was already completely empty.
A chuckle escaped Yamato as he observed the two dumbstruck ex-students. Picking up his chopsticks, he said his usual "Itadakimasu" before digging in.
"By the way, you have become a really good cook, Sakura-chan. I enjoyed the meal very much," Kakashi informed her cheerily. A friendly, crinkled eye focused in the pink-haired jounin's direction and she beamed in response.
"Me too, Sakura-chan! I really enjoyed it. Almost better than ramen," Naruto's voice was muffled as he spoke between mouthfuls and he shot a rice-filled grin at his old crush.
"I might have to agree too. I remember eating your burnt rice about a year ago. You have improved, Hag," Sai informed her with pleasant cheer.
"Same here, Sakura," Yamato nodded, still tucking in to her food.
"Aw, guys." The rosette's features lit up in a smile. She paused in her eating for an instant, a fond look in her eyes as she scanned her teammates. "I wanted to make it different this time, you know? I know we usually eat out once a fortnight to meet up, but I thought it'd be nice to have the gathering at someone's house. And since I felt like cooking this time, it'll be best to have it at my place."
"Well, thank goodness your cooking skills improved, Hag. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lived through the first ten seconds of this dinner."
"Keep talking like that and you won't even last ten seconds now," she replied, smiling sweetly at her ex-ROOT teammate. Chuckles escaped from the other three who had been listening in.
Propping her elbows on the table, Sakura rested her chin on clasped hands as she surveyed her teammates with a smile on her face. She had never felt so satisfied at that point, watching them eat together. Granted, there was one person missing, a hole present in the old Team Seven's hearts, but it was something she had to live with… because it was the choice he'd made.
Ever since meeting Sasuke in Orochimaru's underground base, Team Seven had almost drifted apart, with everyone left to their own thoughts. Sakura, in particular, was the most devastated.
She cried for months, knowing her old love was gone for good.
And when she realised it was tearing her team apart, it took a huge amount of effort for her to pick herself up, and urge the rest to do the same. She started with Naruto and Kakashi, asking for training and sparring sessions. It was then that Sai and Yamato were roped in as well.
Then came Sakura's idea of having eating sessions once a fortnight. It was a brilliant idea, and the new and old members of her team had gelled since then.
With a contented sigh, she watched as the other members stood up one by one, Yamato and Naruto offering to wash the dishes while Kakashi and Sai set up the game table for a game of Riichi mahjong. A satisfied smile crossed her lips as she idly watched Kakashi explaining to Sai about the game while Sai listened intently, and hearing Naruto's tone-deaf singing from the kitchen.
It was a great night, and Sakura couldn't wait for the next gathering with the group.
She didn't know then that it would have been her very last one.
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The rosette walked on a tree branch upside down, her hair coming down in slim, wavy locks. She was decked in her usual black nin attire, her boots scraping against the tree bark as she walked with her eyes closed.
With a small sigh, she deftly jumped away from the branch to land onto the solid earth. Her eyes scanned the clearing as she mulled over what to do next. She had been rather bored waiting for Pein to return ever since she sent Gaara the message, and had opted to take a breath of fresh air outside. The other members had been lounging in the entrance hall, Hidan playing pool with Kisame and Deidara sculpting clay. Itachi, as supplied by Kisame, was meditating in his room.
Clearing away leaves from the ground, Sakura proceeded to sit in a cross-legged position with her back to a tree, her hands idly twirling her pink hair to make a simple side plait, loose wavy curls framing both sides of her face. Humming softly, she rested her head against the tree trunk, watching grey clouds crawl across the sky. For a moment, she could imagine she was in a different place and time, where she could have absolutely nothing to worry about. A place where she could rewind time, maybe… or at least, see the people she could never see again.
As those thoughts receded like a low-tidal wave, her eyelids grew heavier and she began to fall asleep.
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"Sakura." For the second time that day, the girl's head shot up like lightning, her alert eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Relax Sakura. It's just me." The calm, baritone voice spoke again. With that, Sakura noticed as a hooded figure jumped from the branch above her and landed gracefully before her, the piercings on his face glinting from the sunlight. Lowering his hood to reveal orange hair, he crouched before her, the sun enveloping his figure like a halo.
"Oh. Um. Hi?" Sakura found, to her horror, that her voice was raspy from disuse once again. She took an involuntarily deep breath at their closeness and smelt sandalwood and musk, and was inevitably drawn in. Outwardly, she only showed her wariness at their closeness, choosing to keep the fact that she loved his scent to herself for whatever modicum of self-preservation she had left.
Jade eyes interlocked with violet ones, and she was shocked when he actually gave a chuckle of amusement. "You must have been out here long," he said, a faint smile on his lips as he regarded her with amusement.
"How do you know?" She responded, her voice still uncertain as she studied the man crouching before her. He had knelt on one knee while his hand was resting on the other as he watched her, his cloak billowing in the breeze.
Her eyes widened imperceptibly as he leaned closer, his hand reaching out towards her. Instinctively, her legs shifted from her cross-legged position, trying to back away but she found that she couldn't. She looked at him, alarmed, as he seemed to come even closer, his eyes unreadable.
What was he playing at?
His hand brushed her hair ever so softly, and withdrew, as his breath landed on her face in a gentle caress, blowing loose strands of pink hair away from her face.
Her breath hitched.
"You have a leaf in your hair," he informed her in a matter-of-fact manner, and Sakura's shoulders sagged slightly as mixed feelings of relief and disappointment overcame her.
Wait a minute… why was she feeling disappointed?
Sakura could only nod dumbly as she mentally tried to process that nugget of information. Just as she was figuring out why she was actually feeling that way, he spoke again.
"You should try not to lose it," he said, still watching her intently.
Silence ensued.
"Lose what?" Sakura found herself asking curiously, raising an eyebrow.
He studied her again, and she tried not to fidget under his gaze. Then his hand moved to his pocket and brought a small object out. A familiar, white ring glimmered in the sunlight and her eyes widened as she recognised it instantly.
"Oh my god- I thought I placed it in my pocket! It must have fallen when I was upside down. Oh my- I'm so sorry," she apologised profusely, her hands coming up in an apologetic gesture.
She never expected what came next.
A gentle hand took her outstretched right palm, and she felt the rough ridges on his palm as he rested her hand in his. With extreme gentleness, he proceeded to insert the white ring on her middle finger, his eyes focused on her hand.
Sakura found that she couldn't move. Her hand tingled from where he touched her, making a rippling sensation coursing through her entire body. Shuddering involuntarily, she watched as the ring slid up her finger so slowly, and her nails painlessly turned a pure white. Her eyes widened in fascination as she observed her ivory fingernails, a stark contrast against his purplish-grey ones. Her eyes shot up, and she went breathless as darkened violet eyes met hers. Her throat suddenly went dry.
Something was going to happen, whether she liked it or not.
But… she would damn well try her best to stop it.
They were from opposite sides of the world, in more ways than one. She was a jinchuuriki, and he was an infamous terrorist who wanted the demon within her. Nothing, not even attraction, can come in the way of her values. She had sworn to prevent the demon from reaching the wrong hands… and it would not matter if she died doing so. It was her duty, and she had to stick to it.
So she said the most killjoy-like statement she could think of at that moment.
"You visited Konan's grave."
His eyes turned grim and serious, and he finally withdrew his hand, and Sakura found herself missing its warmth almost instantly.
"Aa. I miss her presence," he said, his voice deep with a slightly anguished undertone. His eyes remained unreadable as they flickered away from her, as if deep in thought. "She used to be there to remind me of what I lived for, and what I promised to bring to this world."
Sakura studied him intently, her eyes scrutinizing his handsome tan features. "And what is it that you promised to bring?"
His violet eyes flickered back to her, and his tone became wistful. "I promised to bring peace to this world. There is too much pain, too much suffering… People dying for no reason, innocent children losing their parents… Seeing it with my own eyes has urged me to do something about it. When Konan was gone, I swore that I would never let the goal out of my sight. I would do my best to stop the pain people have been feeling."
It was then that Sakura's mouth decided to impulsively run on its own accord, her mind unable to process the enormity of what she said until after she had said it. Her voice escaped her in barely more than a whisper.
"What about your pain?"
Silence reigned over the two as his eyes interlocked with her jade, hesitant ones. For a long, long moment, they stared at each other, each of them trying to decipher the other's thoughts.
Then a loud shout rang across the clearing, and Pein stood up gracefully, putting some space between them as their eyes focused on the visitor, standing at the entrance door to the base.
"Leader, you're back!" Kisame flashed a grin at Sakura and winked, making her groan inwardly. Just how much had he been watching? His Samehada was strapped to his back and he was already dressed in his Akatsuki cloak.
"I guess we can call the rest to start moving," Kisame said simply, turning away from the pair as he started walking back inside the base's entrance.
"I will follow. I need to speak to Tobi first," he murmured softly only for her ears, his eyes trained on her as she looked at him. She nodded, and with a seemingly satisfied look, he disappeared in flurry of leaves, leaving her finally alone to her thoughts.
The prevalent thought running through her mind attacked her with such ferocity, that she knocked the back of her head against the tree trunk with a groan, closing her eyes.
What in the world was happening to her?
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I have another change. It's been planned that while Nagato will have his Sage of Six Paths mode, he transferred his soul into Pein, therefore he is in Pein. He will, however, be able to control the other bodies but he (Pein) will not be able to move when he is doing so, like how Nagato was. So… err… basically it's Sage of Five Paths, in a manner of speaking. I just preferred it that way, because Pein is ten times healthier and hotter than Nagato. Lol.
If you guys did not understand that, no matter. It will come out in due time.
I loved their interaction in this one. I just had the image of him crouching down in my mind as he talked to her, the sun behind him forming a halo around his figure. It's so..antihero-like.
I love antiheroes, especially hot ones. (smiles contentedly)
If you love this chapter, hit the review button! Encouragement is really appreciated. If there's any mistakes, please do not hesitate to tell me!
VERY IMPORTANT POLL: Should the ending of this story be a dramatic one (as planned) or a happy one? Initially, I have planned a rather dramatic storyline and I have already fixed the ending. But as the story progresses, I'm not sure if it's what you guys would appreciate.
So, if you guys appreciate a dramatic flair in Dunamis Tes Athena, please review so. If not, please state that you will prefer a happy, non-complex ending.
In the end, I will still choose the ending, but you should state your reasons for choosing either way to make me understand your case. I am in a dilemma.. Anyway hit the review button below and tell me what you think!