Chapter 2-Wild and Untamed
Everything seemed a lot quieter now. At least that's how it seemed now that things in Konoha were peaceful. It was often a mystery how things continued to evolve and regress as time passed; and if one were to really examine this issue, one would find that things would continue to stay the same. Of course people would change, but that would mean that if one person changed, another would too. And often, a lot of the time, people would switch personalities. Overall, things seemed to stay the same.
As she gazed upon the flickering lights with a gentle fondness, she wondered when it would be her turn. When would she be able to switch personalities with some anonymous character? When would she be able to dump the treacherous burden upon her shoulders? Or was she an anomaly? Her amber eyes watered in contact with her reflection from the glass window. It was almost unbearable now…
Flashback
His white mane shimmered under the many streetlamps that donned the silent road. His offer to walk her home on this particular night stood brightly against the darkness of the unknown, and she wondered if he had a hidden agenda; maybe something he needed to discuss without the company of her Anbu.
She glanced at the man and wondered for a second what her fiancé would've looked like if he were still alive. Maybe he would resemble this man. It was odd how this man, in many ways, resembled Dan. And maybe if he hadn't left her distraught and crumpled, she would've found out if maybe the man walking beside her was the one for her.
Hypothetically, if it hadn't worked out with Dan, it was highly possible that she would've seen Jiraiya in a different light. But ironically, she wasn't even given that chance; it was something that she regretted for the better part of her life. Now, she was too terrified to find out.
The silence encompassed the two as they strolled along the stone-paved path towards her home. As the yellow paint of her lovely porch dawned upon them, she stopped in mid-stride, hoping to give the man the opportunity to present his case; whatever it may be.
He seemed reluctant, as if he almost didn't want to talk to her. Maybe he was stalling… His eyes flickered up towards her amber ones, and in that moment, she didn't know how to respond to the smoldering look within his eyes.
The words were caught within his throat as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. She flinched when she realized that his hand had moved up near her face as he fingered the tips of her hair. She felt like she just had the wind knocked out of her.
"I know you know. You have to know." His voice was broken and hoarse. She felt as if her breath was caught within her lungs. The meaning of his words was daunting, daring, and agonizing. If he really understood, he would've left it all unsaid; because wouldn't it have been better left unsaid?
Somewhere deep down, she knew all along. And even though she didn't like to admit it, she liked that it was left unsaid. However, things like this never did last…
She gazed up at him, her blonde her still in between his grazing fingers. She didn't respond as she reached up with her own hand to softly grip his. Guiding his hand back down to his side, she turned and left him standing in the middle of the road, alone and heartbroken.
"I don't want to know," was all she said as she closed the door behind her.
End of flashback
She tried to blink back the tears. Why did she have to do that? She could've offered an explanation to why she couldn't be with him. Of course she knew. She'd known for as long as she could remember! Tsunade knew that he was in love with her. But she couldn't. That was something that she knew about herself. She couldn't let herself be involved in something like this.
She closed her eyes in despair as she registered soft approaching footsteps. Spinning around slowly, her eyes narrowed disapprovingly at his entrance.
"Hokage-sama, I'm sorry I entered without your permission. But I knew you were in here, and I did knock, but you didn't respond," Hyuuga Neji said as he bowed his head respectfully, "forgive me."
Her eyes softened. It was her fault. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she failed to register his presence. Clearing her throat, she said, "Just don't do it again."
He nodded. "Understood."
She motioned for him to continue. "I understand that recently, Haruno Sakura was dispatched with Hatake Kakashi and his Anbu squad. Am I correct?"
"Yes, what of it?" she replied, not quite understanding the importance of his predicament.
"It's just that Captain Haruno was recently assigned a very important S-classed high profile mission, and now that she is currently out on duty, her team cannot carry out the mission."
"I see…" Tsunade suddenly felt overwhelmed. What in the world had compelled her to send her apprentice out on a whim? She studied the Hyuuga's posture and noticed a certain solemn dignity that exuded from his being.
She suddenly understood it all. Maybe she was overanalyzing Sakura's situation, but for some reason, she felt as though her apprentice was, in many ways, becoming like herself. She didn't want Sakura to lose the people that were important to her.
Neji scrutinized the blonde's demeanor. There was something within her eyes that signified a deep-seated agony that even she, herself, couldn't pinpoint. Even with her twenty year-old mask, Neji could tell that the woman was growing weary carrying a burden that seemed to be too great for her to shoulder.
"I appreciate it that you brought the issue to my attention Neji,"—her voice was laced with bitter fatigue--, "I'll take care of it." With that, she waved a hand to dismiss the handsome captain as she turned around once again to stare down at the flickering lights of the village.
Hyuuga Neji was not a nosy man, but it seemed that there were certain things that he deemed more important than not being a busybody. Ignoring her silent command, he approached the woman from behind. He noticed that she was about a head shorter than him.
She felt a hand upon her shoulder as her eyes took in the sight carefully. She should've bristled at his defiance, but instead, his eyes drew her in to what he was saying.
"You may call me nosy, but just let me take a moment to say this. Sometimes, it not necessary to carry it by yourself." His voice was solemn and serious.
She blinked, shocked at the blunt power of his tone. Her eyes reverted back to her reflection in the glass as he wordlessly took his leave. The sheer force of his words would leave a permanent mark within her subconscious.
Wild and untamed. That was what her father once called her. She never considered herself wild, but her father probably meant something else. She never quite understood him. He disapproved of many of her life choices. Not that she cared, but it would've been nice for him to hold a certain amount of pride for the daughter that he was never there for.
And she turned out okay. At least she didn't commit treason and went awol with some sadistic homo. And she wasn't normal to say the least. So how come he didn't care?
Of course, dwelling on the past was something she wasn't very fond of, but at the current moment, that was all she could think about. She was staring at their backs again, and suddenly, it seemed like she was twelve; before Sasuke left, before her father left.
It was one of those things that one never seemed to forget. It seemed like it should've been one of those things. But then again, she was not a sentimental person, and the question continued to nag at her doubts as she stared at their backs; why now?
She was distracted. That was never a good thing. Missions of this caliber were dangerous and chock full of surprises, and this entire mission was definitely a surprise. She never expected seeing any of these men, just like she never expected their condescending actions. Inwardly, she wondered if any of the men in her life had any faith in her abilities whatsoever. Unfortunately, that was one question she never wanted answered; maybe because she didn't have any faith in them either.
She was very much surprised that her glare didn't burn two very angry holes into their heads. It was completely like them to disregard her presence. Naruto was idiotically gesturing; telling undoubtedly some very interesting story about some mission or another. Sasuke seemed to "hnn" in the right places, and Kakashi was simply reading his stupid orange porn.
How freaking typical… Maybe she was being a child, but SOMEBODY should've paid a little bit of attention to her!
Of course, it wasn't as if she really wanted their attention…but it would've been nice to have been acknowledged! Would it kill Kakashi to put down his porn and say, "Hey Sakura. How's it going? Good. Me too!"
But nooooooooo…. they just automatically assumed she would just trail along and everything would be like it was before.
However, at that very moment, the copy-ninja's black orb trailed back towards her as he slowed his speed so that he was next to her. She should've been jumping for joy that somebody wanted to pay attention to her. But somewhere within her subconscious, a voice was telling her that their attention really didn't matter; it was just one mission and she would never see them again.
She nodded in his direction, acknowledging his presence.
"You seem kind of angry…"
She bristled at the comment. "NOOO, of course NOT. Now where would you get such a silly idea?" She smiled sardonically as her eyes continued to bore holes in Sasuke's head.
Kakashi responded with an equally sardonic smile under his mask, "Now either you're just meticulously looking for explosives within Sasuke's hair, or you're trying to will him to drop dead. Am I even warm?"
For the first time since the mission commenced, she smiled genuinely. It quickly faded for she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be mad at this man. "I suppose you're not too far off. However, let me remind you that it's not only Sasuke…so if you would be so kind as to catch up to those two idiots over there, I could be left in peace to uh… find explosives in your hair also."
Kakashi scrutinized the pink-haired girl. She seemed unhappy to be here. He decided to change the subject. "So how's your team coming along?"
Caught off-guard by the change in subject, it took Sakura a moment to register what he actually said. "Um… it's going pretty well actually. Aki and Riku are probably the best guys out there."
"They probably get it from their captain." He smiled from behind his mask.
She scoffed loudly. "Don't patronize me Kakashi."
"Oh?" he seemed even more amused, "I'm not patronizing you."
She scrunched up her nose in distaste.
A smile dispersed across his face from behind his mask. He had only meant the comment as a compliment but she seemed to read into his actions a little too much. "Maybe…" he replied, placating her, "but either way, it's true."
"Instead of watching for danger, you're back here unintelligently conversing with me… You REALLY earned your title."
Kakashi stared at the girl for a moment. She seemed almost as if she hated him. Kakashi understood her hatred of Sasuke, but what had Naruto and he ever done to her? "Hm… I think people just exaggerate. I'm really just a lazy sloth."
She bristled at his admittance. Instead of retorting though, she thought it would've been better to remain silent.
"Hm… I really missed your obedience. Kids really do grow up too fast," he said nonchalantly as his hand went up to scratch his masked chin.
"I assume you don't miss Naruto or Sasuke then?"
"No… just you.. You were always so nice…. But then again, most little girls are pretty nice."
She raised her eyebrows. Obviously, he'd never dealt with Ino and that bitch that called her names at the Ninja Academy. What was her name? Well, whatever it was, Sakura would recognize her pug-face in a moment's notice.
"I find that little girls are much more vicious than little boys."
"That might be true emotionally, but girls are much more docile…."
What generation did this man grow up in? Was he just pushing her buttons?
"Kakashi?"
"Hmm?"
"Shut up."
He simply gazed her from the corner of his eye. Had he said anything wrong? He had just based what he said on his experience with her. Those were the good days.
He really did have chicken hair. She never would've really noticed if someone hadn't mentioned it to her. Maybe it was Tenten…. For the moment, she couldn't remember who had said these wise words of wisdom. His hair looked like something that should've been standing up on some chicken's ass. She coyly smiled to herself. His eyes glanced at her as she suddenly realized that he had just caught her staring at him. Rolling her eyes, she went back to gnawing on her beef jerky.
"Still looking for explosives?"
She reverted her eyes towards the annoying voice. She simply stayed silent and again, her beef jerky was given her full attention. Kakashi, on the other hand, didn't take kindly to be ignored. He plopped down beside her and pulled out a bento from his sac. She watched him as he slowly pulled down his mask and popped a piece of sushi into his mouth.
It was the first time she had ever seen his face. He smiled innocently at her. She simply reverted her eyes towards Sasuke's chicken hair, hoping to distract herself from the gorgeous face sitting beside her. She noticed that Naruto was whispering something to Sasuke, which in turn caused him to send a quick glance in her direction. She stared at her beef jerky, feeling incredibly childish to be playing such juvenile games.
"You can't ignore them the entire mission," Kakashi admonished.
"Who says I'm ignoring them?"
He chuckled. "I'm just pointing it out. No need to get defensive."
"Hnn.." Her attention was on the blond that was currently waving his chopsticks in the air. He always seemed to over-gesture.
Kakashi leaned over, his mask still pooled around his neck, and warmly whispered into her ear, "Go over there. Catch up."
Sakura froze; deathly afraid of turning her head. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine and the smell of spicy musk floated its way into her senses. She contemplated what he said, all the while ignoring his ridiculously gorgeous face that was inches away from hers. Silently, she shook her head and continued to eat her jerky.
Amused, Kakashi spoke, "So you're willing to let years of friendship go down the drain because of a little awkwardness?"
Hostility snapped into her eyes. "Excuse me Kakashi, but if you haven't noticed, it's not like THEY'RE coming over here to "catch up"."
Her face was a centimeter away from his, as it finally caught up to her how close their faces were. However, she refused to pull back. He didn't seem to mind the proximity as his exposed eye simple crinkled with amusement.
Dauntingly, she whispered; her breath brushing against his lips, "What are we doing?"
"Talking," he whispered in reciprocation.
Inside, she whimpered. She was going to lose. "I'm done with my lunch. I'm going to take a little stroll." With that, she disappeared, leaving an extremely entertained man alone to finish his bento.
"Ey teme… what do you think they're talking about over there?" Naruto asked Sasuke with a child-like anticipation.
Sasuke simply shrugged as he glanced over his shoulder. Narrowing his eyes at the sight of Kakashi's unmasked face hovering over Sakura's indifferent one, he continued to swallow his ramen. At another point and time, he would've jumped for joy over seeing his sensei's face, but at the moment, he was a little preoccupied with the spark he saw between the pink-haired kunoichi and his sensei. They seemed to be exchanging some sort of banter… something along the lines of flirting… Dear god no, Sakura and Kakashi flirting? That was impossible.
"Ey dobe, what does that look like to you?" Sasuke asked Naruto all the while nudging him towards Sakura's direction.
"Talking," Naruto answered obliviously.
Grunting with mild frustration Sasuke said, "No, I mean… don't they look a little too close?"
Naruto squinted his brilliant blue eyes towards Sakura's direction. "Well, now that you mention it. It does seem a little out of place."
"Hnn.." Sasuke agreed.
"Ey teme, you don't think there's something going on between them do you?" Naruto questioned curiously.
"I don't know."
"Would she even consider him? Well… you know considering she may or may not still have feelings for you?" The blond glanced at the ebony-haired man.
Sasuke reverted his eyes towards his best friend and said, "Either way, I don't like what's happening." With that, he simply continued to eat his ramen silently.