AN: Hey guys. Well, I don't have much to say, except that this is yet another chapter of my story. Enjoy. 3
I stare at Naruto with a confused expression. "What about Sakura?" I repeat.
Kakashi sighs, scratches his head and then answers my question. "Sakura...wants to kill Sasuke herself. She just came by and tried to convince Naruto to quit trying to bring Sasuke back. She had really come to tell him that Konoha is now going to kill Sasuke."
I gawk at him. Not because Sasuke is being hunted down, but because Sakura thinks she is strong enough to even touch Sasuke.
"What?" I ask, outraged. "She can't do that! He will kill her!"
Naruto looks at me with a pained expression, "C'mon Po-chan...Sasuke is bad but he isn't that-"
"YES HE IS!" I yell at the blond. "Sasuke tried to kill me, Naruto. He would have succeeded if my comrad hadn't jumped in the way and taken most of the blow for me." I narrow my eyes. "If Sasuke called me worthless and attempted to kill me, Sakura will most definately die."
Naruto looks really shocked now. His clenched fists are trembling. I look away then look to Sai. "Did you come with her?"
He nods, that blank look still on his face. "Yes. She is moving now. We should get going if we want to stop her." He says in a monotone. Man, he definately has me beat at that...
I close my eyes and nod. "Then, Kakashi Sensei, you should hurry up."
The silver-haired man looks at me then nods. He turns to Yamato and gives his commands. "Yamato, you need to stay here with Naruto and Popori. Sai and I will go to stop Sakura."
Naruto looks at Kakashi like he has three heads. "What? I'm not staying here!"
I glare at Naruto and say sternly, "Yes, you are. Naruto...you can wait for another time to talk with Sasuke. Now...is not wise."
The four boys all look at me quizzically, but Naruto is the one who questions me verbally. "What do you mean?"
I sigh, "Sasuke went to kill Danzo and most likely, has succeeded. He's probably just finishing up or is already done. He is so bent on avenging the Uchiha clan that he has gone on a rampage. He is filled with so much darkness...seeing Sakura or even you won't change how bloodthirsty he is. The only way to stop him is by force." I flick my eyes up to meet his. "And I highly doubt that you are ready to fight him to the death."
Naruto closes his eyes and hangs his head. He knows I'm right. He fought Sasuke before, but he was never ready to kill him. He thinks Sasuke can be turned with words. But really...I genuinely think that the only way to stop him is to kill him.
Kakashi nods to Yamato then he and Sai dissapear. Yamato looks to both Naruto and I, then sighs. He places a hand on Naruto's shoulder then leads him into the place where they are staying at the moment. I frown then follow after them.
I sit in a corner by myself as Yamato sits on the opposite wall as me, and Naruto lays on a small mat, the sheets covering his whole body. I'm wodering why we aren't talking, but then decide that I like the quiet. I rest my head against the wall, and fall asleep.
When I wake up, Yamato is packing up, and looking rather upset.
"What's wrong?" I ask, standing and pulling out a sleath knife.
Yamato shakes his head and sighs, "Naruto gave us the slip. The one lying on the mat was a shadow clone. The real one probably went after Kakashi Senpai and Sai."
I put my knife away and shake my head, "Idiot..." I mumble before helping Yamato pack up.
The two of us start heading towards the Leaf in silence. He doesn't really know what to say to me, and I really don't want to talk to him. His eyes freak me out, and the metal thing on his face is the weirdest fashion statement I've ever laid my eyes on. What is it even supposed to do? Just...be there? I shake my head with an amused smirk and follow after him.
When we get to the Konoha gates, I feel a bit shaky. I'm really depending on Tsunade's promise to me, if she didn't keep it then, well...I'm pretty much already dead. I take a deep breath, making Yamato glance back at me, then enter through the gates behind him.
The first to greet us are, of course, Izumo and Kotetsu. They come out with smiles, seeing Yamato first. When they catch sight of me, I know the news of my defection got out. They both loose their smiles and they replace them with frowns and glares. I look down at my feet, ready for their disapproval.
"What is she doing here?" Kotetsu demands.
"I thought she was..." Izumo trails off, still looking at me with disdain.
Yamato nods in understanding, and I raise my gaze to stare straight ahead blankly. "I did too," He begins. "But Kakashi agreed to let her come back so, I'm not questioning it. Actually-"
He's cut off by someone pushing him aside abruptly. I look over to see who it is, though I have a pretty good idea already in my head. I give the culprit a small grin.
"Well...hello there, Shiky-kun..." I nod at the dark haired male to say that I see him.
I loose my grin as he comes at me. Is he going to attack me? I brace myself for my punishment, but all I get is a bone-breaking hold. Oh, it's just a hug. He pulls away and the first thing he does is smack my forehead.
"Ow, what the hell?" I demand of him, rubbing my forehead.
He rolls his eyes and puts his hands in his pockets, "Oh shut up, I'm just reminding you that I told you so." He smirks at me.
I roll my eyes, "Yeah well, I had this planned the whole time, idiot."
He raises his eyebrows, "Really? You mean that? So...what about your last night here...did you plan that?"
He isn't looking away when he addresses me like he used to. He's matured, if that's even possible. What happened? I examine him silently, ignoring his questions. I then notice the cigarrette hanging from his mouth. Why would he start smoking? He hates it when Asuma smokes. I crinkle my brows in confusion, when it hits me.
"Oh..." I state out loud, feeling sheepish. That's right, Hidan killed Asuma. This must have something to do with honoring his death.
I look up to see Shikamaru eyeing me curiously, then I remember I still have to answer him. "Oh," I repeat, shaking my head to clear it. "Well, I wasn't planning on you coming to find me, no." I admit genuinely.
He nods slowly, processing this. He sighs then grabbs my upper arm and pulls me with him as he walks, "Well in that case, I'm going to have to walk you to Lady Tsunade. A lot of the chunins aren't too happy with your defection."
"I would have never expected that." I say sarcastically while following after him, not needing his guiding. I do know this village like the back of my hand after all.
That's when I remember something, Pain destroyed this place didn't he? I look around and see a bunch of construction going on all around. I stare down at the ground, ashamed. Shikamaru sees this and nudges me.
I look up to see him grinning at me with soft eyes. "Hey, cheer up. You didn't do it. Hell, you weren't even here."
"I didn't even know about it...Madara told me after it happened..." I say quietly.
He stops walking, staring down at me until I'm forced to look up at him curiously. He bends down and gives me a loving kiss on the forehead, which in return makes my whole body freeze up and I blush heavily. He pulls away and chuckles at my reaction.
"It's not your fault, you stubborn female. Get over it." He says with a smirk, then turns and pulls me towards Tsunade's office again.
I pout my bottom lip, and have no choice but to follow after him. Why does he have to be like this? He's acting like I was never even gone. He's making it really hard on me to forget about what happened the last time we saw each other. And now, that's all I can remember; the fact that we told each other we loved each other. We kissed...and it was one of the best kisses I've ever had.
I feel so guilty...Because I'm leading poor Shiky-kun on. I belong to Kankuro...I love Kankuro. And I can't love Shikamaru at the same time...right?
I shake my head again, freeing my thoughts of such confusion. When I look up, we're inside a building that I don't recognize. Obviously just built. I study the walls and look up to Shikamaru as he stops outside of a door. I blink at him, then turn my attention to the same place as him.
He gives it a slight knock, then enters, pulling me along behind him of course. Inside, are Shisune, a bunch of medical ninjas, and Tsunade looking like she just woke up. When she sees me, she smirks and motions me over to her. Shikamaru lets go of my arm, and I take the freedom to approach the Hokage.
"Popori..." She starts, looking at me with strick eyes. Well, that's not a good way to start, now I feel queasy.
"Popori Ikame..." She restarts, saying my full name. She stares me down for a long time, making me feel smaller with each passing second. Then, unexpectedly, the busty woman pulls me in for a hug. I am being suffocated by her huge chest, and I think to myself, what a horrible way to die!
She lets go of me and I gasp for air. I manage to smile weakly at her, still panting. "Good to see you, too, Lady Tsunade."
"Lady Tsunade!" Shisune starts, looking at me with hateful eyes. "She must still be weak. She's seeing things. Lady Tsunade, Popori defected from the village and followed after Sasuke."
Tsunade rolls her eyes, looks away and waves her hand flippantly at Shizune. "I know that. But that's because I let her."
Everyone in the room, apart from me of course, stare at her with wide eyes.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Shizune demands.
Tsunade chuckles at her personal assistant then tilts her head to the side. "Like I said, and probably what Popori has said to Shikamaru earlier, 'I planned this'."
AN: Hey ppl! Just a heads up, that I will probably only be doing a few more chapters of this story. 5 is the max. I already have 32 chapters, and that is well over book long so...yeah, 5 chaps max for this. Gah...these chaps are just getting shorter! It's annoying me!
And if you have any requests for me to do, I put a poll on my profile. I have a few more fanfics I want to do, then I will start doing one-shot requests. Maybe even multi-chap requests. Oh-ho-ho~! *Urahara paper fan wave.*