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Chapter 15 – And the war begins…
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SCRATCH! SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
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SCRATCH! SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
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"What the hell?" whispered the pink haired girl as she looks frantically around her bedroom.
Grabbing the covers a little more, the girl begins to panic. It was two in the morning and there was a freaking weird sound coming from somewhere inside of her room!
'Get a grip Sakura… You're a ninja for god sake! You can't take anything down!' thought the girl as she rolled her eyes at her stupid behaviour.
Trying to find where the sound was coming, Sakura got out of her covers and took the kunai she was hiding under her pillow in case of an emergency and threw herself on the wall behind her, standing on her bed.
SCRATCH! SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
…
'Where was it, dammit? Was it my bedroom door? The bathroom? No… Wait! The window!'
In a swift movement, Sakura slides herself to her left and hurriedly open the window, before grabbing what looks like a man and throw him on the ground, her kunai on his throat.
"Nhh…" mumbled the man.
"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" yelled the girl as she sat on him and crushed his ribs.
"…"
Shaking his head lightly to regain his senses, the man moves a little his head so that the moon light was shining on him before speaking.
"Ha, ha, ha! Well, you sure have an interesting way of welcoming people, Sakura!" laughed the man nervously.
"Ka-Kakashi?" asked in disbelief the girl as she scrutinizes his shaded face.
"Hummm… Yeah!"? answered the grey haired man, unsure.
"…"
"…"
"Wha-What are you doing here?" asked again the girl, now remembering why she was avoiding him.
"I wish to talk to you." answered honestly the man before pointing his finger toward her weapon, "Do you mind?"
"Hummm… Sorry." apologised the girl as she get off of him.
"Thank you." replied Kakashi as he stands up.
"Why are you still up at this hour?" inquired Sakura as she puts the kunai on her desk behind the man.
"I'm helping Naruto with his training." answered Kakashi in apprehension.
Stopping what she was doing, Sakura became tense and decided to simply answer an "Oh!" before resuming her actions. But Kakashi was no fool; he knew he was in no man's land and that Sakura was probably presuming that he was giving more attention to Naruto again. If only she knew he had disobey a direct order from the other Hokage to come and see her.
"…"
"…"
"Sigh! Listen Sakura…" begins the man as he turns around to look at the girl, "Don't… Hummm… You shouldn't…"
"…"
"I mean… I think…You know…" continued the man as he starts to pace around her room in anxiety, still trying to form a coherent sentence.
"I don't understand a word you say…" replied Sakura in an exhausted tone, before she walks behind the man and sits on her bed.
Finally stopping, Kakashi look at the pink haired girl for a long minute before he walks toward her and sits on her bed too, on her left side.
"Sigh! Listen… You are important to me Sakura. Do you know that?" asked Kakashi as he looks at the girl straight in the eye.
Surprised by the sudden outburst, Sakura's eyes widen a little in shock and looks away with a pain yet curious expression on her face.
"…"
"You are like a daughter to me." started again the man, "And I have always tried to protect you the best way that I could. I probably even have overprotected you and that way, I probably give you the impression that you weren't worth being a ninja. But the thing is that you have always been a good ninja, Sakura. When you were twelve, you were just lacking maturity, maturity that you finally got after the chunin exam. And when I realized you were ready, I should have given you more attention. But the thing is, that I was just too caught up with the boys to actually give you the time you deserve, and I apologized for that. I failed you as a sensei. And I'm not too blind to see that I have hurt you. In fact, I'm well aware of the pain you are bearing because of me, Sasuke and even Naruto, even if you try not to show it. Sakura… I'm sorry to have neglected you, to have disrespect you as a ninja. In my life, I have lost a lot of persons because of fate. I don't want to lose someone because of me. That's why I came here to apologize. I'm sorry Sakura, really."
After a moment of silence between the pair, Kakashi begins to think that he might have done something wrong. The girl wasn't speaking and her face was half shadowed by her bangs and the dark of her room. He was regretting his visit now, but what else could he do? He had to show Sakura how important she was for him. To curious to see if he had done something wrong, the grey haired man tried to reach the hair of the girl when a subtle intake of air startled him.
"…?"
"Tha-Thanks you *sobs* Ka-Kakashi!" finally spoke Sakura as the tears freely drop down her delicate porcelain face.
On instinct, the grey haired man put his right arm around her shoulders and hugs her to his side. Gladly welcoming the reassuring gesture, Sakura hug him back and stayed like that for a while as she slowly calm down.
"I'm sorry." said again the man.
"I know." replied the girl as she wiped a tear away.
"I'm annoying now, isn't it?" asked Kakashi.
"Yeah!" answered the girl with a smile.
Chuckling lightly, Kakashi rubbed the girl's right shoulder one last time before standing up and stretching his back.
"Seriously, I accept your apologies." added Sakura.
"Thank you." replied Kakashi with a hidden smile.
"…"
"You should go to sleep, little girl." spoke the man as he ruffles her hair in a fatherly way.
"Yes… DADDY! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" joked the girl.
"Ha, ha, ha! Goodnight Sakura!"
"Goodnight Kakashi!"
And with that said, the man left through the window and left the girl in the darkness of her room. Smiling to herself, Sakura closed the window and jumped back in bed, happy that she finally had the support of at least one member of her team. Even if she had wished to postpone this meeting as much as she could, she was glad that the jonin had forced it. She didn't want to be mad at her boys, but she wasn't ready to make the first move.
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On the training ground
"Hey! Where were you Kakashi! You just missed my last technique!" spoke Naruto as he got out of a hole in the ground.
"Ha! Sorry Naruto. I was… Showing my feminine side!" said Kakashi as he scratched the back of his head in a funny manner.
"YOU WERE WHAT? Ewwww, that's weird, sensei…" replied the boy with a disgusted face.
"Yep, maybe, but it was worth it! Come on, let's finish this training before the sun rises."
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The next morning
"AT THE WEST GATE NOW!" yelled a brown haired ninja, "GROUP A, GROUP B, ON THE FIRST LINE! INO YAMANAKA'S MED NINS SQUAD IS RIGHT AFTER THEM!"
Doing as they were told, dozens and dozens of ninjas begin to place themselves in the line that was created in one of the main street near the west gate. All armed and prepared, the ninjas were settled in groups, waiting for the orders.
"THE DEFENSE SQUAD… TAKE YOUR PLACE AROUND THE WALLS OF KONOHA, NOW!" yelled again the man.
Not too far away, Sakura was waiting for her group to be called. Her med-nins were gathering the last parts of medical supplies that they were going to take with them. Since her part of the job was done, she decided to take this opportunity to relax a little. So, the pink haired girl allowed herself to lean back against the wall of a building and closed her eyes. As she was about to fall in deep meditation, the voice of her best friend was heard.
"So… You missed quite a show yesterday…" said Ino as she jumped near Sakura and lean back against the wall too.
"What?" asked the girl with a small curious smile, "You running around Konoha in your undies?"
"No, you idiotic moron! I mean Naruto confess his love for Hinata in front of everybody!" said the blond haired girl with a proud look on her face.
"Oh!" replied Sakura as she looks away thoughtfully, "I'm glad for them!"
"Tch… Still avoiding him I see?" spoke Ino as she rolled her eyes.
"Hn…" grunted the pink haired girl as she looks away in an offended way.
"Oh please! Sakura! Stop with the monosyllable. You're turning into the guy we can't name!" said the blond haired girl as she throws her hands in the air in annoyance.
"Don't you even compare me to him…" said Sakura in a warning tone.
"And where did the girl that was head over heels for him go?" muttered the other girl.
"…"
"Anyway… Are you ready?" asked Ino, sighing.
"More then ever and you?" inquired Sakura.
"Yes."
"…"
"You know, I think we have done a good job… I mean, everyone have a plan and instructions to follow, our medical supplies are all packed and ready to help us heal our ninjas for the next two years. Nothing can bring us down, now." spoke Ino as she looks around.
"Yes, but we need to stay vigilant, I mean we don't know what's going to fall on us." replied Sakura trying to sound realistic.
"Yes, you're right…"
After a long minute of silence, and a lot of furious looks from the announcer, Sakura decided it was time for them to get on their position.
"I think you should go to your position before Genma lose his temper… He's yelling after everybody, it's only a matter of time before he threw someone through the gate…" said the pink haired girl in a now amused tone.
"Ah… Come on Forehead! I can hang around with you a little more. They won't die of it… Besides, we're not out of the village yet." replied Ino with a smile.
"YAMANAKA! GET WITH YOUR GROUP NOW!" yelled Genma in exhaustion.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! SHEESH! He's such a jerk!" spoke the blond haired girl.
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Tch… See you later Forehead!" said Ino as she left the pink haired girl.
"Yep!"
As the blond haired girl left, Sakura take a look around at the line of ninjas that was now increasing. Most of her friends were now around her and she knew her turn would come soon.
"NOW! THE YAMANAKA, THE NARA AND THE AKIMICHI CLANS ARE ON THE THIRD LINE, FOLLOWED BY THE JONINS!" continued the brown haired man as he read his tasks' list.
"OH! THAT'S MY TURN! REMEMBER LEE! NO ONE CAN RESIST YOUR YOUTHFULNESS!" yelled Gai as he ran past Sakura, followed by a bunch of really annoyed jonins.
"ALRIGHT GAI SENSEI! I HOPE I CAN JOIN YOU SOON ON THE BATTLEFIELD!" replied Lee on the same tone, not too far away from the pink haired girl.
"OH LEE!" yelled again Gai as he looks back to his student with tears in his eyes.
"GAI SENSEI!" said Lee, almost in tears too.
"LEE!"
"GAI SENSEI!"
"Oh please! Shut the hell up…" whispered the pink haired girl as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"GAI! TAKE YOUR PLACE PLEASE…" said Genma in an annoyed tone.
"YES GENMA! I'M ALREADY ON MY WAY! THANKS FOR THIS REMINDER!"
"Sigh!" continued the man, "ON THE FIFTH LINE, I WANT TO SEE THE ANBUS FOLLOWED BY THE HOKAGES, YAMATO, SAI AND NARUTO UZUMAKI."
"Sweet! Now I know my place!" said Naruto as he jumped in the middle of the line.
"Ah, ah, ah! Come on!" laugh Yamato as he walks toward his position and motioned Sai to do the same.
"ON THE SIXTH LINE, THE ABURAME AND THE INUZUKA CLANS ARE THERE, AND FINALLY ON THE SEVENTH LINE, THERE WILL BE SAKURA HARUNO'S MED NINS SQUAD FOLLOWED BY THE HYUGGA CLAN."
"Sakura…" said Naruto upon hearing his friend's name being called, "Hey wait Yamato! I want to talk to Sakura!"
"Not now Naruto, it's too late, the orders have been given. Come on." spoke the man as he resumes his walk toward the center.
"Sigh! Yeah…" sighed the boy as he too continued his way.
Doing as they were told, the last ninjas that weren't placed walk into the line toward their positions.
"Are you coming Sakura?" asked the Hyuga as he walks in front of the girl that was still leaning against the wall.
"Yes Neji." replied the pink haired girl as she follows him.
Once everyone was ready, Tsunade walks in front of the line and order Ibiki to open the gate.
"NOW LET'S GO!" yelled the fifth Hokage.
In less then five minutes, the entire ninja force of the Leaf was release.
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6 hours later
"Come on, we're almost at the rendezvous point!" yelled Kakashi as he tried to motivate the troops.
"The clearing is up ahead!" added Tsunade as their group run up ahead.
Once they reached the clearing, the sight was impressive. The five great nations were positioned all over the field. Ninjas were running from one side to the other, installing the supplies in safe places. Near the forest, some medical ninjas from Suna were raising tents for the upcoming injured ninjas and the Kages were gathered around a table near the medical camp.
"ALRIGHT! EVERYONE ON YOUR POSITION, NOW!" ordered Tsunade as she waves her hand from back to front once.
Immediately, the Hokages begin to walks toward the other Kages and the leader of the iron land, while Naruto ran toward Killerbee. Most of the ninjas from Konoha begins to unpacked the supplies and take their position around the clearing.
"See you later, girls!" said Hinata as she left Sakura and Ino.
"Yes, see you later Hinata!" replied Ino, while the pink haired girl waved her hand.
"COME ON! LET'S STARTS THE PREPARATIVES GUYS!" ordered Sakura as she walks toward Suna's medic squad.
As ordered, the medics started to advance toward the tents and start to unpacked. Tsunade who was reaching the Kages' table, couldn't help but smile. Their plan was working perfectly, for now that is.
"You took your time…" said the Raikage, arms crossed.
"Sigh! Listen, I'm not in the mood for this…" replied Tsunade in an annoyed tone as she takes her place between the Mizukage and the Tsuchikage.
"Hello Tsunade!" greeted the other woman.
"Hokages." acknowledge the old man.
"Hello Mizukage!" answered the fifth Hokage with a genuine smile, "Tsuchikage!"
"So how is it going?" asked Kakashi as he joins the group on the Kazekage's right side.
"Pretty find, actually. Our medics nins are already settled, the Anbus are positioned all around the field among our ninjas and everything is ready." answered the Mizukage in a proud voice.
"Good!" said the grey haired man as he nodded once.
"As for Suna, the medic squad is almost settled, we were waiting for the arrival of Sakura Haruno to make sure everything was okay, the Anbus are ready and the ninjas are almost done preparing the material." added Gaara in a monotone voice.
"The Land of Lightning is ready." growled the Raikage.
"The Land of Earth is also prepared." answered the Tsuchikage.
"Marvellous! In less then an hour, we'll all be ready." concluded Mifune, "Come on, let's review the plan."
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On Naruto's side
Sitting on a log while the other ninjas continued to place the weapons supplies, Naruto and Killerbee were chatting quite exuberantly while preparing their stuff for the up-coming battle.
"Yo! Are you ready Naruto? You know it's quite a big show!" begin to rap the eight tailed beast host as he sharpened his weapons.
"You said it Bee! I can't wait to see, 'cause I'm more then ready!" added Naruto smiling like an idiot.
"Good job kido! And don't forget what you know!"
Laughing a little, Naruto excuses himself and went to the medical tents. He had to admit that it was quite a medical force they had. There where thousand and thousand of tents everywhere, medics were running all over the place and supplies were gathered from one place to another. Not dwelling on the fact too long, Naruto begins to search around the camp for her pink haired team mate. He had to find Sakura even if he had to look in every damn tent they had raised, he would find her. They needed to talk. Turning around two or three tents, Naruto tried to find someone who could tell him where she was, but in vain. No one was near.
"Damn it! I don't have a lot of time… If I do look in every tent, it'll take me a month…" whispered desperately the boy to himself, "Maybe I could try to look for her chakra."
Focusing on the girl's chakra, Naruto slowly advanced in the tents' maze. He turns to his left, two times, then walks a few meters and turn again three times on his right, when suddenly, he heard her voice through the crowd.
"Come on! Hurry up, we have to be ready soon. Everyone else is done."
"You heard the boss. Come on!" added Ino as she walks past the blond haired boy.
Slowly approaching, Naruto finally got a glimpse of the girl he was looking for… Sakura. She was wearing her now usual black attire, which consist of long really thigh black pants, her usual high heels boots, a black thigh shirt with three quarter length sleeves and a collar line larger than the shirt, showing her right shoulder, the black ninja camisole and the usual black ninja gloves, with the red handcuff around her arm to signalled she was a medic. Her head band was wear like a necklace around her neck. At the moment, she was sitting on a chair and half leaning over a paper on a small table. Her bangs were held by her right hand on the right side of her head to prevent them from hiding her view and she was in deep concentration.
'Ha, ha, ha! Always so beautiful Sakura…' though Naruto with a small smile on his face as he approached.
"Hey!" tried the boy.
"Huh!" replied the girl, surprised, "Naruto? What are you doing here?"
"I wish to talk to you."
"Ho! Look… " started the girl as she avoid his eyes.
"Hummm… Sakura…" interrupted the boy.
"…"
"I'm sorry." spoke the jinchuriki, "I know I'm a jerk sometimes; you had every right to punch me and be mad at me. Seriously, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like a burden."
"…"
"…"
"That's okay Naruto, I accept your apologies." said the pink haired girl as she finally look at him.
"Really?"
"Yes. I don't want to be mad at you while we are in war and that you could die at any moment. You are a great friend Naruto, but I can't act like nothing happened. I'm not mad at you, but I can't forget the fact that you think I'm inferior to you."
"But Sakura…"
"Naruto… I just need some time to digest that, that's all. In fact, if we could stop talking about that it would be best." explained Sakura.
"But Sakura, I don't want you to feel like that! I didn't…" tried Naruto.
"Please, Naruto… I told you, I'm not mad and I don't want to be, everything is fine! Let's just not talk about it okay?"
"Alright!" agreed the boy as he sat on the chair next to the girl.
Not comfortable with the tense silence that had installed itself upon them, Sakura tried to talk about a lighter subject.
"So, I heard you finally confessed your love for Hinata?"
"… Huh! Ha, ha! Euh… You see…" stammered Naruto, red like a tomato.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Ha, ha, ha! Yes!" laughed the boy, "You know… That's why I didn't… I didn't accept your confession… I have feelings for Hinata for quite a moment now…"
"Well, I'm glad you did refuse me, because you were right… I was lying… And by the way, I apologize for that! I was just trying to find a way to make you come back home safe and I thought you were still having a thing for me."
"You manipulated me…" whispered Naruto as he looks at his joint hands.
"Yes… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" tried Sakura with an apologetic looks on her face.
"That's okay! I don't blame you. In fact, I'm glad to see that you are ready to do anything for me and my safety, even if it is totally mean and horrible!"
"Ho, yeah! Said like that, it sure sounds great…" replied the girl as she rolled her eyes.
"Ha, ha, ha! No Sakura! In fact, it's great! That means you care about me. And you know you weren't too out it… It's true that I still have something for you, but that's not love. That's friendship. You are my best friend! I'd do anything for you, even if it meant to die." explained Naruto with a smile as he looks at the girl.
"Don't say that!" replied Sakura outrageously.
"But that's true, you are important to me Sakura." insisted the boy.
"You are important too." said the pink haired girl.
"…"
"…"
Standing up, the blond haired boy dust himself off and smile.
"…?"
"How about we settled this by a hug?" suggested Naruto as he held out his hand.
"Good idea!" replied the girl as she took it.
As the two hugs each other as a sign of peace, a huge sound of buzzer was heard. People start to run in every direction and in less than a minute the voices of the guards erupted.
"ON YOUR POSITIONS, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! THE WAR IS BEGINNING!"
Releasing each other, Sakura hurriedly grab her sheet of paper and fold it in her pocket.
"We should go see what's going on now…" said the girl as she drags the boy toward the Kages' meeting point.
"Yes!" replied the boy following her.