Sorry for the long delay in between chapters. I got really busy, and the manga chapter from two weeks ago sort of demotivated me for a while XD Anyway, I would like to mention something that I feel I need to mention. On this other forum, where my first story was linked from, someone said that I didn't stick to the canon because I said that Sakura wasn't serious with her confession. Apparently, there is even an interview where Kishimoto says that she was serious. Well, first off, don't expect me to know about these 'interviews'. I don't follow the story that faithfully and I don't really care enough to go looking to see if this interview exists or not. Second, until I am given serious proof that she was serious, I will be doubtful about it. I personally believe that deep down, Sakura does love Naruto, I honestly do, but at the same time, I don't believe that she was serious about her confession. I just don't believe it. Besides, events in the last few chapters have just furthered my belief. To all those who don't read the manga, but watch the anime, get ready for that XD But anyway, I normally don't bother with comments like that, but I wanted to show that I don't ignore the canon purposely, and that people who find these 'interviews' shouldn't expect every person to know about them.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter, it took a long time to write XD
Chapter 7:
Naruto stared at the grave before him, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion. The cemetery was eerily quiet that day. There wasn't even the sound of the wind or the birds. It was as if nature itself could feel the solemnity of the moment.
It had been a week since Sai had died. After receiving the news and mourning over his lost teammate, Naruto had made sure to give him the full funeral that he deserved. A few of the ANBU had objected, saying that they couldn't allow Sai's remains to ever fall into the wrong hands, like how Kabuto had used the remains of the kages and other famous shinobi in the last war.
However, the ANBU couldn't argue against Naruto for long. Especially not when both Sakura and Shikamaru supported it in full.
Naruto shivered slightly. Even if it hadn't been directed at him, Sakura's glare was still a source of fear for Naruto.
Naruto sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to the grave in-front of him. The grave was a simple headstone, nothing fancy, easy to miss. 'Sai' was written on it. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the name. He had known for a while that Sai was probably not his real name. However, Danzo kept his secrets well, even years after his death. There were no records on Sai, and so Naruto had just put what everyone had always known him by on his grave instead. It was sad, in a way. Naruto couldn't help but wish he had asked Sai if he knew and if he could tell him his name. But now he would never get that chance.
Naruto didn't even look up when he felt the ANBU's presence behind him.
"What is it?" he asked solemnly.
"Hokage-sama, the other kages have agreed to meet with you. They have also agreed to meet in the Land of Iron, like you requested."
Naruto nodded and the ANBU disappeared. Naruto took a deep breath and began to walk away from the grave. He hated the Mizukage, hated her for killing Sai. Shikamaru hadn't told him exactly what had happened yet, though Naruto wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. If he heard what happened, Naruto wasn't completely sure he could keep a cool head when he met with her.
XXX
Naruto stepped into the hospital, the smell of disinfectant reaching his nose. Gazing around, he noticed that it was mostly business as usual. There were sick patients, nurses and even a few shinobi, hurt in their training. It was as if Sai had never died. Naruto didn't like that. Sai deserved to be remembered.
Brushing aside his anger, Naruto made his way through the hospital. After walking quite a ways, he came to the door to Shikamaru's room. He stepped inside, and saw Temari sitting in a chair beside Shikamaru's bed. Shikamaru was standing, as he had been cleared from the hospital, and was eager to leave.
Sensing him as he entered the room, the two of them glanced over.
Temari nodded at him and smiled sadly. "Hey Naruto"
He nodded back, but didn't say anything. Even he couldn't hide how depressed he was right now.
Turning his gaze to Shikamaru, Naruto noticed that he wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the floor, almost as if he was ashamed. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before fixing his gaze on Shikamaru. "It wasn't your fault you know."
Shikamaru didn't look up, but shook his head. "You weren't there. You didn't see what happened."
Naruto raised a brow at him. "So what did happen then?"
Shikamaru continued to stare at the floor, before finally looking up at Naruto with sorrow-filled eyes.
XXX
Shikamaru could only watch as the lava came down upon him. Suddenly, however, a black and white dog was in front of him, taking most of the lava before bursting into an explosion of ink. Shikamaru blinked for a few moments before regaining his senses and jumped back. The Mizukage was staring at him, wide eyed for a second, also caught off guard. She glanced over to where Sai was. Sai was holding off Ao's kunai with his tanto in one hand with an empty scroll in the other.
Shikamaru did a hand sign and his shadow shot out from under him, reaching for the Mizukage. Mei noticed and jumped back. From the side, Shikamaru saw one of their ANBU teammates get hit away by Choujiro, flying quite a distance through the trees. Choujiro dashed forward, heading towards Shikamaru with that odd sword of his.
Shikamaru swore, before stopping his jutsu and throwing some shuriken at Choujiro to distract him. Choujiro ducked, avoiding them completely, and continued after Shikamaru. As he got close, he swung his sword, only to stop inches from Shikamaru's face. He looked shocked.
Shikamaru smirked, his hands in their familiar seal. On the ground, their shadows were now connected.
Shikamaru knew he couldn't hold him long though. He guessed he had seconds before the Mizukage would be attacking him again. Luckily, he didn't have to hold him long. After about 3 seconds, Sai came down from above the two of them, cutting Choujiro across the chest. Shikamaru released his shadow and Choujiro dropped to the ground, coughing violently.
Next, Sai pushed Shikamaru down as Ao swung at him with his Kunai, narrowly missing his head. "Bastards!" he cried, his arm already in the motion for another swing. However, shadows suddenly engulfed him, trapping him, and within seconds he too was cut by Sai's blade.
They had no time to celebrate though. From behind, they could already feel the heat of the Mizukage's magma coming down on them.
Sai turned, pulling a scroll from his back. He opened it, and another giant dog appeared, taking most of the attack. Still, it couldn't block all of it.
A little bit spilt over, and Shikamaru's arm was suddenly hit with the searing hot magma. He cried out in pain, but Sai was on it, sealing it within a scroll and grabbing Shikamaru while he jumped away.
After moving a little bit away, Sai stopped. He looked over at Shikamaru's arm and saw that it had been severely burnt. The amount of magma that had touch it had been very little, almost nothing, yet it had still caused a lot of damage to his skin, melting through his sleeves.
Sai didn't have time to waste though. Feeling a presence above him, he looked up, only to see the face of the Mizukage standing on a branch above them, her hands already forming that same hand seal.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't want it to come to this. But the council has decided."
Sai jumped back again as the Mizukage released a larger amount of the magma from her mouth. Yet, he didn't jump far enough and magma splattered all over his vest and on parts of his arm as he covered Shikamaru.
Sai fought back a cry of pain and ripped his vest off of him. He saw that it had burned through the fabric in an instant and that parts of his chests were burned.
His arm was also badly burned and but he pressed on, using his good arm to support Shikamaru. At some point, Shikamaru had lost consciousness, most likely from the overwhelming pain. He needed to get to the hospital, or they would both be in grave danger.
The Mizukage was still perched above them. She watched, ready to finish them off when a flurry of kunai and shuriken tore through the leaves at her.
Cursing silently, she jumped away. There was no chance of catching them now. The other ANBU had arrived, and there was no way she could fight them all on her own.
Meanwhile, Sai was struggling. The burns had been worse than he first though and he was struggling to carry the two of them. Finally coming to a stop, he felt his knees go weak and began to collapse, when a pair of arms grabbed him to hold him up. His burns cried out in pain at the touch and he let out a small yell.
The arms tensed and he could barely hear a voice calling his name as his vision faded black.
Shikamaru was also being carried by someone else. He opened his eyes, and saw that he was now on the back of a new ANBU member. He looked over to see Sai being carried bridal style in the arms of another ANBU. He was burned all over, and the ANBU looked too afraid to carry him normally, in case they caused him more pain.
Feeling the pain in his arm act up again, he could only stay conscious for a few moments before allowing his eyes to close again.
XXX
Naruto watched Shikamaru, a look of pity on his face. "It wasn't your fault," he said, trying to soothe Shikamaru.
Shikamaru gave him a weak smile. "You don't have to act like it isn't. I know that if it hadn't been for me, Sai wouldn't have been hit. He covered me and got hit. If I hadn't been there, he'd-"
Shikamaru stopped, and Naruto could hear him suppressing a sob. Naruto closed his eyes, holding his own tears back. This was a very heavy loss for all of them.
Finally, Shikamaru regained control of his voice. "I never wanted this kind of thing to happen again. After that first mission with Sasuke, I never wanted to fail my team like that again. But it happened, and this time, we lost someone. Sai's gone. He's…" Shikamaru stopped there and looked down sadly. Temari, who had been mostly silent, stepped forward.
"Oi, you did the best you could," She called softly, "And besides, we're shinobi, this is something we need to be used to."
Shikamaru let out a small chuckle, though it still sounded very depressed. "Mmm, I know. I just… I didn't want it to happen. I wanted to be better than that."
Temari looked unsure of herself, but she placed a hand awkwardly on his shoulder giving him her best look of sympathy. If it hadn't been such a grave situation, Naruto would have laughed. He knew she was trying her best to cheer him up, but was unused to this kind of thing.
Shikamaru glanced at her hand and looked up at her. He gave her a small smirk, a shadow of his former self showing through. That seemed to satisfy her as she removed her hand.
Seeming to remember that Naruto was still in the room, the two of them turned to him. "So," Shikamaru began, "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to meet with the other kages," Naruto replied. Shikamaru's eyes widened for a moment, before he narrowed them at Naruto in worry.
"Are you sure you'll be able to keep your cool? The two people responsible for Sai's death will be there you know. The Tsuchikage, who started this whole thing, and the Mizukage, who did the killing herself."
Naruto closed his eyes, his hand clenching into a fist unconsciously. He hated them. He really wanted them to pay. Sai hadn't deserved to die. However, Naruto calmed himself, feeling his anger die down a little. He needed a calm head. All revenge would do was bring more revenge. He looked up and met Shikamaru's eyes before nodding.
Shikamaru kept his gaze on Naruto for a few moments before sighing and nodding back. "Just be careful," he said.
Naruto grinned and began to make his way to the door. He stopped just in front of it and turned back to look at Shikamaru one last time. "Don't worry. Leave everything to me," he said confidently. He opened the door and strode out into the hall. However, he didn't head towards the exit. There was one other person he had to see.
XXX
Sakura sat back in her chair, rubbing her forehead to get rid of the stress she felt. She was exhausted. Not physically, she had enough chakra to heal at least a dozen more patients. She was exhausted mentally. Sai's death had really taken a toll on her.
Sakura had never lost a close friend before. They had been extremely lucky. Even in the war, none of their group had died. Lee had been in the hospital for about a month and Neji had become so weakened he couldn't tell Akamaru apart from Kiba, but other than that they had been lucky.
Well, there was Sasuke, but they had lost him long before his actual death. This wasn't the same, no matter how much Sai resembled him at times.
Sakura's jaw clench and she slammed her fist onto the table, causing it to crumble into a bunch of splinters. It made her feel so powerless, being unable to save Sai. Sure, the nurses had said it was miraculous that she had healed him as much as she had considering the condition he had been brought in. But in the end, it hadn't been enough. She had fought hard, pouring every ounce of her chakra into keeping him alive. And it still hadn't been enough.
Sakura felt tears sting her eyes, but she held them back. She wouldn't cry. Not anymore. She had cried too much already.
A knock on her office door made Sakura look up, but she didn't move to open it. After a few moments, Naruto walked in. He eyed the remains of the desk before turnin g his gaze on Sakura.
She tried to wipe her eyes quickly to hide the tears, but wasn't fast enough. He stood there, silent for a few moments while Sakura began to clean up some of the papers that had been on her desk.
"You okay?"
Sakura paused only for a moment. Any normal person would have probably missed it, but Naruto knew Sakura. He could see even the most subtle signs. She continued to clear up the mess and after sighing softly, Naruto began to help her. They cleaned in silence for a few moments, but Sakura couldn't stand the silence for too long.
"I'm fine," she replied, barely being able to keep her voice steady.
Suddenly, Naruto's hand reached out and touched her cheek. Her gaze met his and he sighed. Her eyes were still red from all of the tears she had been shedding. As he continued to watch her, his thumb began to stroke her cheek unconsciously.
"You shouldn't blame yourself you know."
Sakura looked away quickly, forcing Naruto to let go. "That's what everyone has been saying. But it doesn't matter. I couldn't save him. I was too weak. He shouldn't have died like that."
Naruto took a deep breath. Sakura could be really stubborn sometimes.
"I know the state he was in when he got here. It's a miracle he stayed as long as he did. If it weren't for you, he probably would have died within minutes."
Sakura's brows furrowed. "It doesn't matter, in the end, I failed. I feel so powerless."
Although she had said it quietly, her voice had been strong with emotion.
"You're not weak. Sakura, if it weren't for you, I would have died by now. Several times in fact. You are not weak. You're strong. You've saved Sai time and time again as well. Whenever he got hurt on a mission, you'd heal him. If he ever came back, bloody and dying, you'd save him. You're not weak, Sakura. You saved tons of people in the war. Plus there's the patients you help every day. What you do is something that can only be done by a few."
Sakura looked up and met his gaze again. His eyes were sincere, and she couldn't help but feel a little less guilty about the whole thing. Just seeing that look in his eyes just seemed to make everything feel just a little bit better.
Looking down at the ruins of her desk, she smiled sadly. "You'd have been fine without me."
Naruto's brows furrowed. "Sakura," he began, his voice completely serious, "You're important to me. I don't know what I'd do without you. I-I lo-"
Naruto stopped, and looked away in embarrassment realizing what he had been about to say. He hadn't meant to bring up his recently rediscovered feelings. And he definitely didn't want to chance rejection of those feelings here. Especially not when he himself was not exactly emotionally stable.
Sakura's curiosity, however, had been piqued. She looked up at him through her bangs, her expression hidden by her hair. "You what?"
Naruto looked down now, at the papers he had collected from the ruins of her desk. "It's nothing," he said, standing up and moving to a nearby shelf, where he placed the papers he had collected.
He heard Sakura mutter a small 'oh' and turned to see her rising as well. Seeing her give up the argument like was only more proof to Naruto that Sakura was not her normal self. The grief she felt must've been intense. She placed the papers she had collected on a small table on the opposite side of her office and turned back to him.
"Well… thank you Naruto, I feel a little better I think… "
Naruto shook his head. "Anytime, Sakura-chan. You know I always like it better when you smile," he said, grinning at her.
Sakura blushed lightly and looked away in embarrassment. "So, how are you going to fix this whole situation then?" she asked, mostly to change the topic.
"Well… I'm meeting the other kages in about a week to discuss this whole thing actually. They just agreed to it today."
Sakura looked over at him, surprised. "Oh, I see. Are you sure it's a good idea to bring the person who killed Sai into Konoha? There are a ton of people who would love to kill them now. And that would just give them a perfect excuse for starting a war."
Naruto shrugged. "Well you see we're actually going to meet in the Land of Iron."
Sakura frowned at Naruto now, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Isn't that dangerous? Who knows what could happen while on the trip there or back?"
Naruto grinned at her. "It'll be fine Sakura-chan. Kakashi will go with me, and we'll send regular updates back so that the village knows what's happening and all that. Everything will be fine."
Sakura frowned at him looking a little confused. "Wait, you're just taking Kakashi?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That's it?"
Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before grinning widely at her. "Yeah."
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, her glare making Naruto shrink back a bit in fear. "Naruto, Sai was just killed. Shikamaru has intense burns on his right arm. Their two ANBU teammates came back with several major injuries. Do you even realize the danger you could be in?"
Naruto chuckled nervously, but that only made Sakura's glare become even more intense. "This isn't funny Naruto, you could die. Even if it's Kakashi and you, you two can only handle so much," Sakura said, almost shouting now. Naruto was staring at her wide eyed, not knowing what to do.
"Do you even realize how I would feel if something happened to you two?" Sakura asked, before quickly looking away. She was silent for a moment before continuing. "I'm going with you."
Naruto's eyes widened even further. "Eh?"
Sakura looked back at him, giving him that dead serious glare of hers. "You need a medic. And it needs to be someone who can fight on the level of the kages and their bodyguards. So take me with you," she said, not giving Naruto a chance in the matter.
Naruto opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, unsure of what to say. Sakura couldn't help but compare the look to a goldfish opening and closing its mouth.
Finally, Naruto managed to speak. "B-but you can't Sakura-chan. It would be dangerous, like you said. And if something happened to us, you need to help out with things here in Konoha. What if I take Ino instead? She's almost as skilled medically as you and she can-"
"Nope, I refuse to be left behind," Sakura said, cutting him off with a tone that said that she was done talking about this.
"Eh, but-"
"No buts. Besides, so what if it's dangerous. You think I can't keep up with Kakashi and you?"
"No Sakura-chan, I-"
"Well thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama," she continued, "But I can keep up with you two just fine. And besides, if anything happens to me, then Ino can take over here. Besides, she'll work better with Shikamaru then, since they are part of that Ino-Shika-Cho formation."
Naruto ground his teeth, becoming a little frustrated at the constant interruptions. "Dammit Sakura, I just don't want anything to happen to you!"
Sakura met his glare with a glare of her own. "Well how do you think I would feel if anything happened to you? You don't think I would be hurt?"
"No, I do think that, it's just that I care about you! And if something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do!"
Sakura gasped quietly, and her glare softened to a look of surprise. Naruto looked away, unable to meet her eyes. After a moment, she reached out, placing her hand on his arm. "Naruto, you promised we'd do this together, right?" she asked, and after receiving an affirmative nod from Naruto, she said, "So please, let me help you. If we go together, I'm sure it will be fine. Plus we have Kakashi. We'll be fine."
Naruto shook his head. "I just don't want you to get hurt Sakura-chan."
Sakura smiled up at him kindly. "Well, whatever problems we face will be easier to solve if we're together, right?"
Naruto hesitated for a second before finally relenting. "I guess so."
Sakura beamed up at him. "Great, now get out for a moment," she said, pushing Naruto towards her office door.
"Eh?"
"I need to pack up my medical gear, so wait outside. Then we'll go to your place and get your stuff."
"What? Why are you coming with me to pack up?" Naruto asked as he was shoved outside of her office and made to sit in a nearby chair.
Sakura walked back over to her office door and began to close it. However, just before it shut, she poked her head out and looked at him. "I'm going with you because every time you decide to do something important, you leave me behind," she said with a bit of a frown, "So I'm going to make sure that you don't leave me. Got it?"
"But-" Naruto began, but was cut off as she closed her office door. Sighing Naruto leaned back in the chair and couldn't help the small smile that formed on his lips. 'At least she's back to her old self' he thought.
After about 5 minutes, her office door opened up and Sakura walked out with a small backpack over one shoulder. She smiled down at him, offering him her hand. "Okay, let's go then."
Naruto smiled back up at her and took it. She pulled him up and the two of them walked together out of the hospital, neither noticing that they were still holding hands.