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THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED
stfuSPARKS
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or 'A Year From Now by Across Five Aprils. ;)
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VIII.
A Year From Now
"Complete and total adoration,
My gift to you, my heart was yours."
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The pink haired girl sat on her bed in the darkness of her room, staring at nothing in particular.
Haruno Sakura was no one special. She had never strived to be anyone great in her life, and she had never wished for anything out of the ordinary. That was probably why she was currently asking herself why all of this was happening to her.
What had she done to deserve all of this?
Tears silently ran down her cheeks as she mourned the loss of everything in one day. She was living a lie- nothing in her life was real. The only thing that had been real was Idate- but that was gone too now. Her heart constricted even more as she remembered his death.
She wondered if the urban legends were actually true. Was a demon really trapped inside her body? Or maybe it was just a silly story and her powers were her own. Everything was starting to piece together though- maybe, just maybe- if she learned to control her powers, she would find a way to survive through all of this.
But at this point, she had to ask herself:
Did she even want to survive anymore?
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"Well this friggin' sucks." Kiba muttered under his breath, as the five of them returned to their headquarters. "Am I the only one who thinks that Gaara's the one behind Idate's murder?" He kicked off his shoes, throwing himself onto the couch.
Shikamaru looked thoughtful. "Well it would certainly make sense if he was." He said with a nod, slightly impressed at Kiba's ability to connect the dots. "He has been missing since last night."
"Leave it to Gaara to be the biggest douche in the universe." Naruto groaned, slapping himself on the forehead. "I thought you told him to control his anger, Neji!"
"I did." Neji said coldly, glaring at the blond. "I already informed Orochimaru. All the evidence against him should be gone by now, so he'll be fine. You're right however- we can't continue to cause such inconveniences for our client."
"This was also Gaara's way of telling us that he's becoming impatient." Sasuke said quietly. "He wants to end this mission soon."
"Well we obviously can't do that!" Kiba burst out, looking irritated. "How the hell are we supposed to kill her when her stupid barrier seems to block out every single weapon we approach her with?" He sighed in frustration. "We're going to have to find her weakness before even we can even hope to kill her."
"Remember what that Kin girl said?" Shikamaru spoke up. "That barrier won't activate as long as we don't use any weapons at all."
"Are you suggesting we beat the girl to death?" Naruto asked, looking absolutely horrified.
"I wasn't suggesting anything." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. "I was just saying we can start by working on that piece of information. We may be able to find out more."
They fell into silence once again.
"I have to go buy something." Naruto abruptly said, standing up. "Come with me, Sasuke-teme."
Sasuke's eyebrow went up. "Why the hell should I come with you, dobe? Go do your shopping on your own." The Uchiha didn't waste his time getting to the point with Naruto. The blond ignored his verbal attacks, grabbing the raven haired boy's arm and dragging him out of the door. "What the hell Naruto?" Sasuke hissed, yanking his arm away as they stumbled onto the street.
"I need to talk to you." Naruto blurted out, looking serious for once.
Sasuke sighed. "Let's not talk here. Something tells me that I'm not going to like whatever you've got to tell me." The Uchiha dragged his so called friend towards a little coffee shop on the corner of the street. He also had a feeling that he was going needs lots of coffee to sit through this. Naruto seemed to be relieved at the fact that Sasuke was actually going to listen to him for once.
When they finally took a seat and Sasuke had a cup of coffee in his hand, Naruto started to talk. "Sasuke-teme, I know you're as unemotional as my wall-" Naruto impatiently waited as Sasuke choked on his coffee in an extremely undignified manner. "But I know I can trust you. Kiba is too much of a blabbermouth and I'm afraid Shikamaru's going to be too analytical about things." He stopped to grimace. "I don't even want to think about confiding in Neji either."
"Get to your point." Sasuke snapped, trying to save the last of his dignity by quickly wiping his mouth.
"Sasuke-teme, do you find this mission difficult at all?" Naruto asked blatantly, temporarily surprising Sasuke with his honesty. "I've never had any problems with other missions before. It was always the same thing- killing our targets from far away and stuff. I never questioned why- I just figured that the target must've done something to deserve it or something. But this mission- I'm starting to wonder if we're really doing the right thing."
"We can't always do the right thing dobe."
"I know that!" Naruto was starting to sound frustrated. "But it's all getting to my head! We've never had to befriend the target before! I actually like Sakura-chan, and it's scaring me. It makes me wonder if all my other targets so far were good people like her- maybe I just didn't know because I didn't have a chance to get to know them like we're doing with her." His cerulean blue eyes saddened. "I'm such a failure as an assassin. And I thought it was the only thing I was good at too."
Sasuke was beginning to feel uncomfortable; he wasn't good at comforting people. "Naruto, you dobe. It just means you're human." He told him. "Would you rather feel nothing at all while killing an innocent person instead of guilt?" He waited as Naruto's eyes slightly widened. "I thought so."
"I'm not sure I want to do this anymore, teme." The blonde bit his lip. "I don't know if I can."
"Orochimaru would never let us simply drop out." Sasuke said, frowning. "Remember what Kabuto said? There will definitely be consequences if we fail to accomplish this mission this time around."
Naruto sighed. "Would it be cowardly of me to run away from this?" His blue eyes told Sasuke that he was being brutally honest.
"I don't know, Naruto."
And for once, Uchiha Sasuke really didn't.
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"Sakura? Is that you?"
The said pink haired girl jumped as she heard her name be called out from somewhere behind her. She whirled around to face her gruff, bearded homeroom teacher, Sarutobi Asuma. He took one last drag from his cigarette before throwing it to the ground, crushing it under the heel of his foot. Sakura inwardly sighed- she couldn't even go to the nearest convenience store in peace.
"Asuma-sensei." She said glumly, trying to calm herself down.
"You seem to be skipping class all too often these days." He told her disapprovingly, ruffling her short pink hair. "Is anything going on that I should know about?" She didn't miss the concerned look that flashed through his face. She felt a little grateful- it was nice to know someone still cared.
"I'm fine sensei." She muttered under her breath. "Just going through some rough times."
He clicked his tongue. "Well cheer up kid. I'm sure things are going to work out just fine."
I really hope so.
"Let me buy you a cup of coffee." Asuma said with a wink, gesturing towards a little coffee shop in front of them. "I was just on my way to meet an old friend."
"Oh no, I'm fine-"
"Haruno." He frowned at her, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Get your little self inside there, right now. You look like death- a cup of coffee can do wonders when you're not feeling like yourself." She had to secretly admit that a cup of steaming hot coffee sounded really inviting right now. With a final sigh, she followed the taller man through the front door into the welcoming warmth of the shop and the inviting smell of caffeine.
She followed him towards a mysterious man who was sitting at one of the tables in the corner. She mentally cringed- she had certainly learned her lesson when it came to trusting people, and this man currently sitting in front of her did not exactly look trustworthy. In fact, he was one of the most suspicious looking people she had ever seen.
First of all- he had a mask covering his face. Who even wore a mask in public when it wasn't Halloween? It covered half of his face, disguising his nose and mouth from view. He had a mop of silver hair at the top of his head, long enough of to hang over his left eye. One lone visible eye crinkled up into an invisible smile as the duo approached him.
"Why are you on time Kakashi?" Asuma asked him incredulously, childishly pointing his finger at the other man. "This doesn't make any sense!"
"It's been awhile Asuma." The man named Kakashi said with a hidden smile. "You're late."
"That's usually my line!" Asuma shot back, and shook his head. "Nevermind, I don't even want to know why you're on time. I met one of my students along the way, I hope you don't mind that I brought her along. She looked like she needed a cup of coffee so I thought I'd get her one." He ruffled her head once again. "This is Haruno Sakura- she's a real troublemaker but she's one of my favorite students."
"Nice to meet you, Haruno Sakura." Kakashi said with a polite nod. "I'm Hatake Kakashi- I've known Asuma since we were kids."
"So you guys are childhood friends?" Sakura asked in surprise. Somehow, she never thought of her teacher having friends.
"I don't know if I'd call him a friend." Asuma said gruffly motioning for her to take a seat. "Just some idiot who's been hanging around me for what feels like forever."
Kakashi let out a low laugh. "No need for you to be so shy of our friendship, Asuma." He said amicably, smiling at him. "I must say, if I knew that some of your students were so attractive, I would've visited your school sooner. It seems like I'll have to pay a visit sometime very soon."
Sakura blushed at his compliment.
"Kakashi!" Asuma smacked his friend on the head at his blatant attempt to seduce the pink haired girl. "Good lord, have some decency! You are twice this girl's age, have you no shame?"
The silver haired man sighed. "I was just kidding, don't get your panties in a twist."
"It feels so wrong when you hit on my student, whether it's a joke or not." Asuma said wth a groan, rubbing his temples. His expression turned serious. "Please don't do that in front of me ever again, or I'll get a heart attack." He turned towards his student. "As you may have noticed, Kakashi is the world's biggest and most idiotic pervert."
"It's okay sensei." Sakura assured him with a small smile. She quickly stood up from her seat. "Excuse me, I'll be right back. I have to use the restroom." The two men watched as she disappeared behind the doors to the women's bathroom.
Kakashi turned back towards his friend. "It's rare of you to show so much favouritism towards one student." He observed. "But something about that girl's expression tells me that she hasn't been having a good time recently."
Asuma sadly smiled. "She's always had it rough." He admitted. "I met her for the first time three years ago when she was first enrolled to our school. We were told to go easy on her because she was in a car accident, causing her temporary amnesia. Apparently she forgot everything about her life- and no one from her family visited her. I'm not even sure if she has any family." He paused, looking thoughtful. "It's fortunate that she has Sai. Apparently they went to the same middle school together and he stuck by her throughout her entire recovery. Good kid."
"Sounds like a good kid indeed." Kakashi agreed with a crinkle of his eye.
"I don't know what's going on, but it seems like she's going through another rough patch." Asuma admitted, taking a sip of his coffee. "But I'm sure she'll be fine. She's always been a strong girl after all."
Sakura chose that moment to return, looking even shakier than before. It was like she had thought- she wasn't ready for this yet. She wasn't ready to face the outside world, pretending like nothing had happened. She needed time to recover- and she had to do it in the safe walls of her own room.
"Thanks for the coffee Asuma-sensei, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it home." She forced a smile onto her face. "I'm not feeling so well- but I promise I'll make it up to you by showing up for class starting tomorrow."
He shook his head. "If you're really not feeling that well, then take as much time off as you need. You won't be of any use to me in class if you're going to be sick." He gave her another pat on the head and shooed her away. "Now go rest. God knows you need it."
"Thanks sensei." She gave him an appreciative smile and politely bowed towards the silver haired man. "It was nice meeting you, Kakashi-san."
"The same goes to you." Kakashi said with a nod, and watched her hastily leave.
"Haruno Sakura..." He muttered under his breath.
Things were finally starting to get interesting.
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Sakura's proud and tall composure dropped the minute she returned home. The headache that had been plaguing her ever since her awakening was getting worse and worse- maybe it had to do with the fact that she had gained a lifetime worth of information within a few minutes.
She didn't want to admit it- but she actually missed the days when she could have returned home with Sai, both casually chatting about random events about their days. When she had actually been normal. Well to be fair, she guessed she had never been exactly normal, but then again, normality was overrated nowadays.
Could she really believe what her mind was telling her? Everything from her so-called memories seemed to be a bit too surreal. She wasn't sure if she could really believe the whole ordeal about assassins and missions- it all seemed like a very badly scripted clichè action movie. She couldn't be sure if her mind was just making up an alternate reality that had never happened.
Sai had been so good to her throughout the years; it was hard for her to actually believe that he wasn't on her side. She couldn't go ask him directly- it's not like he would admit to it even if it was true.
The phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts.
"Hello?" She meekly answered into the phone.
"Sakura-chan?" A familiar voice blasted, momentarily deafening her. Her blood froze as Naruto continued to speak on the other end. "Sorry I just called- I asked Sai for your number before we left the hospital. I was just worried- you sounded so weird back there, I was sure something was wrong." He actually sounded concerned. The sincerity in his voice couldn't be faked- it made her wonder once again if her memories had just been a figment of her imagination.
"Thanks Naruto." Sakura weakly managed to say. "I just need a day at home to recover, I hope you understand. With Idate and everything..." Her throat immediately constricted as she tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat. "Anyways, Ill be fine."
"I hope you come to school tomorrow." Naruto told her, and she could almost imagine his comforting smile. "Sorry, I won't bother you anymore, Sakura-chan. Get some rest!"
"Bye Naruto."
One thing was for sure. While she couldn't fully trust her memories to be real-
She knew she couldn't trust him either.
Not yet.
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There was something definitely wrong with Sakura.
Sasuke noticed it as soon as she stepped into their classroom the next morning, looking tired and restless. It wasn't that her skin was deathly pale, or that the bags under her eyes could almost match Gaara's. It wasn't that her posture was no longer so high and confident, or that her steps lacked their usual bounce either. He had been expecting her to be strange- her boyfriend had just been murdered after all, but something told him that it wasn't that either.
It was the way she was acting towards him.
And not only him- Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji- for god's sake, even Sai.
He sneaked a glance towards Naruto, who seemed to have noticed the same thing. They exchanged a knowing look and slowly made their way towards the pink haired girl.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto cautiously asked, causing her to jump in her seat. Her emerald eyes reflected fear and caution as she turned around to stare at the two boys.
"Hi Naruto." She greeted him flatly. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone for today."
Sasuke was irritated. "What's wrong with you today?" He snapped, not able to reel back his anger. "You're acting weird. I know that you're going through a lot right now, but it doesn't mean that you should have to seclude yourself from the rest of the world." Naruto was the only one who would know that it was Sasuke's own strange way of telling her we're here for you.
She didn't look up to meet his gaze.
"Sasuke, class is going to start soon." She said blankly, turning to face the window. "You should return to your seat."
That was it. He didn't know why, but it heavily aggravated him that this girl was completely ignoring his words. He was trying to help her- couldn't she see that? He wasn't quite sure at why he was trying to help her. She was their target- he desperately tried to convince himself that he was doing this for the good of their mission, but the excuse was starting to grow old in his head.
He grabbed her arm, noticing her flinch as soon as his skin came into contact with hers.
"Teme where are you-"
"We're going to talk." Sasuke murmured, ignoring Naruto's protests. He forcefully tugged on her arm, dragging her along with him as he walked out of the classroom. Several people turned to stare at the runaway couple as the bell rung above their heads, signaling the start of class.
Sakura tried her best to keep up with his quick pace, but she stumbled as she found herself unable to keep up with his long strides. She ungracefully stumbled over her own feet. He took her to the rooftop- it was raining, but he didn't particularily care. It was the only place where they could talk in private.
"I want you to tell me what happened at the hospital." He told her bluntly, forcing her to stare back him. "You can't lie to me." He added, as she tried to avoid his gaze. "Is it because your boyfriend died?" He didn't understand why his chest was constricting at his own words. Why did it ache when he thought about her mourning about another man?
She blinked back in surprise as tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Sakura finally realized it. She may have loved Gaara in the past, Lee had fixed her, Sai had put her together, and Idate had healed her. But for some incomprehensible reason, Sasuke was the one she so desperately wanted to trust. He had been from the very beginning- from when she had seen his deep onyx eyes for the first time. From the moment he had told her that she was normal.
The handsome young man had captivated her from the start. But it went beyond all that superficial reasoning- there it was again, her need to fix every broken thing that was thrust along her way. However this time, it wasn't just that. It felt like they were two pieces to a puzzle- for the first time ever, she felt like they could fix each other.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, shakily making her way towards the railings at the edge of the building.
"I want to trust you, Sasuke." She whispered, closing her eyes. "But I can't. I can't trust you at all. You might turn around and stab me in the back." Her voice grew stronger now. He stood still, stunned at her words.
"Why?" He grit out.
"I am the Damned."
Her eyes narrowed.
"No one will ever be on my side."
With those last words, she jumped over the railing and disappeared from sight before he could even begin to stop her.
The words she had mouthed before jumping off remained burned into his mind.
Do you hate me now, Sasuke?
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"She knows something."
Sasuke wasn't aware that he was thinking out loud- but when he realized it, it was too late. Neji's eyes snapped away from the newspaper in his hands to stare at the raven haired boy sitting across from him.
"What do you mean by that?" The Hyuuga cooly asked, his white eyes narrowing into a frown. "You mean she knows something about our mission?"
"Are we busted?" Naruto's eyes widened.
Sasuke sighed. "I can't be sure. I was just thinking out loud- but the body language she was displaying this morning indicated that she does't trust us anymore." He carefully chose his words. Naruto slumped against his chair, looking defeated.
"This mission is turning out to be a failure." The blonde complained, rubbing his eyes. "This sucks. Why can't we just lead normal lives for once?"
"Agreed." Shikamaru joined in on the conversation. "This is all so troublesome- sometimes I just want to quit and become a librarian. That sounds like relaxing job."
"And I can go pick up girls and go on dates." Kiba added wistfully with a sigh. "That would be like my ultimate dream come true. This job leaves us no time to actually have any social interaction- and as much as I like most of you-" He shot a glare towards Neji. "-I don't want to spend the rest of my days as a young adult with nothing but your ugly faces to surround me." He thoughtfully chewed on a piece of beef jerky. "I could be out there right now, pleasing the female population. What a waste of a handsome face." He sighed again.
Neji looked at him coldly. "Do you really think you can return to being normal?" He asked icily, his white eyes piercing into Kiba. "Do you really think you'll ever be free of the blood that stains your hands? We can't ever be normal again. We gave that up when we decided to start killing people for a living."
"Geez, you don't have to be such a downer." Kiba muttered in irritation, but he couldn't bring his eyes to meet the Hyuuga's face. "It doesn't hurt to occasionally dream."
The white eyed boy wasn't finished. "You can try to leave if you want to." He continued, with a slight air of superiority. "But don't come crying back to us when you realize that you'll never be able to be normal."
"Dude, he never said he was actually going to leave." Naruto defended his friend, looking slightly alarmed at their leader's sudden harshness. "We were just wondering what it would be like." He frowned. "What's with you anyways? You sound like you're uptight than usual."
Neji wasted no time in voicing his thoughts. "We aren't getting anywhere closer to completing this mission, that's what." He spat out, looking displeased. "Our deadline is coming up soon, and we can't mess this up this time around. It's the least can do to honor Lee's memory."
"Honor Lee's memory?" Naruto's eyes widened in outrage at his statement. "How the hell are we honoring Lee's memory by killing the woman he protected? Don't forget that Lee died while protecting Sakura-chan. Wouldn't his death just go to waste if we killed her?"
"I don't like her much either, but Naruto has a point." Kiba added seriously. "Lee gave up his life to protect this girl. Would we really be doing the right thing by killing her off?"
Neji was becoming more furious by the second. "You guys are all being brainwashed by her!" He snarled. "I'll admit it- she's a nice girl and everything, but we can't always save everyone! We've been given a mission and we're required to complete it. There must be a reason people want her dead- have you ever stopped to wonder what the hell she is? She's not human! She's a monster disguised as a little girl- things like that shouldn't even be alive!"
Sasuke found himself growing inexplicably angry at the Hyuuga's words.
"You've seen it yourself Hyuuga." Sasuke coldly said, getting up from his seat. "She may not be normal, but she's still human. She still feels and hurts just like the rest of us." He didn't know why he was defending her- maybe it was because he knew what it felt like to not have a choice.
"I think you're the monster here." Naruto angrily said to the Hyuuga, and got up from his seat as well
Neji could only watch as the only people he considered to be family walked away from him.
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"I was surprised when you asked to meet me, Sakura-san. It's been a little over two years, has it not?"
Sakura nervously fidgeted from her seat on the lavish velvet sofa. The man in front of her was exactly the same as she remembered him- tall, mysterious and perhaps a little scary too. "Aa." She replied, trying to make her voice sound confident. "I had a favor to ask of you."
It was impossible to read his emotions when his eyes were hidden behind a pair of round dark sunglasses. He politely handed her a cup of warm tea. "The last time we met, I was under the impression that you never wanted to see me again."
Sakura's cheeks burned as she was reminded of their brief encounter two years ago.
She had been on her way home with Sai one day after school when Aburame Shino randomly approached her on the street for the first time. It was safe to say that he had freaked her out with his talk about being able to help her control her powers. No one except for Sai knew about her abnormality- and he certainly wasn't the type to go talk about her powers to other people. He had given her a piece of paper with a number scribbled onto it- "Come see me if you ever want to learn how to tame your powers." -and had disappeared.
Sakura was never sure why she kept his number. Maybe, deep inside she had always known that a time like this would come.
"I apologize." She said sheepishly. "You just caught me off-guard back then."
He nodded at her. "Understandable." He took a sip of his own tea. "I'm going to assume something has happened to push you towards this decision."
He was smart. She had probably realized it within their first meeting- Shino was not someone normal.
"I need to know about my powers." She said, looking determined. "I need you to tell me everything you know about me and my powers. I can't be sure..." She hesitated for a moment. "...but I think I'm being targeted right now."
He stayed silent for a couple of seconds. "I knew this day would come." He said solemnly. "It was inevitable. People were bound to come after you sooner or later, especially since your powers started to manifest three years ago." She listened to him expectantly.
He took a deep breath.
"First of all Sakura-san, I have been studying you for quite some time now. You must know by now that your powers have a certain connection to the urban legend of the Damned." He paused.
She nodded. "I know. The legend about the seven demons being cast out into the world."
"You must know that the legend is somewhat true. But not in the way you may think- while your powers are definitely the ones mentioned in the legend, it is more like the legend is based on you." He explained carefully. "There was never such a thing as a war between heaven and hell- we will never even know if heaven or hell even exist. The seven demons that were cast into the world never existed to begin with- however, centuries ago there were seven humans who started to manifest extremely strange and unusual powers. Not knowing what to make of their powers, people made up the legend of the Damned to try and find some kind of basis for their abnormalities."
"So the legend is all made up?" Sakura asked incredulously. "You mean people just came up with the legend because they didn't know how else to explain our powers?"
"Precisely." Shino nodded his head. "It seems that when the host of the powers dies, the powers are reincarnated into a entirely new being. I cannot be sure of why this happens though- and perhaps we'll never know."
Her expression hardened. "You said you could help me control my powers." She said, frowning. "I need that now. If I don't learn to control my powers, I'll never be able to defend myself against the people who are after me."
"I can help you with that." Shino sounded confident.
"Why do you want to help me though?" She asked suspiciously. She couldn't be sure of who she could trust.
"Because I want to keep you alive." Shino answered her simply. "There are people who want to kill you because they fear you, and there are others who want to do so because they want to somehow take your powers for themselves. Myself, on the other hand- I find you extremely interesting, and want to keep you alive so I can continue to observe you."
Her shoulders slumped. "I guess that makes sense." She slowly looked up at him. "Were there others like me?" Her voice was quiet now.
"I cannot be sure." Shino told her truthfully. "Records of the past are never fully reliable. However, from what I have researched so far, there are exactly seven of your kind that respawn once a century." Her mind briefly flashed to the list Lee had given her in one of her flashbacks. Six names crossed out in red... "But it seems to be that the six who I suspected to also be Damned are currently deceased."
Of course. She was alone.
"When I heard that you were in an accident, I knew that they were attempting to murder you as well." Shino continued. "That's why I decided to step in."
"So will you help me?" She asked him, allowing herself to feel a little bit hopeful for the first time in days.
"Yes."
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"Shino-san, you don't have to walk me home." Sakura said, letting out a nervous laugh. "I'm not that helpless, y'know."
Shino glanced at her from behind his sunglasses. "You're in danger Sakura-san." He murmured. "More than you think. I was not going to get involved unless it was necessary, but now that you have asked for my help I will try my best to protect you."
"I doubt anyone's stupid enough to attack me in a place like this." She gestured around at her surroundings. The street was bustling full of people heading home after a tiring day of work. Sakura couldn't imagine anyone being dumb enough to so blatantly attack her right now.
"You shouldn't understimate your opponents." Shino's face never changed. "Everything up until now has been a warm up. They will step up their game soon- we have to be ready for them when they do."
"You sound like you're experienced with these kinds of things." Sakura said, looking at him in awe. "How are you so good at all of this?"
"I've had to face enemies in the past." Was his simple answer, and Sakura had a feeling that he would not reveal anything more. She looked up at him in surprise when he stopped in his tracks, causing her to bump into his broad back.
"...Shino-san?"
"It seems like one of your friends is here to see you."
Sakura's eyes followed Shino's gaze towards the handsome raven haired boy standing in front of them. She forgot to breathe for a second-
"Sasuke?"
"Sakura." She tried to ignore the way her name sounded so right coming from his mouth. He stepped forward until he was standing right in front of her, completely ignoring Shino's presence beside them. "That was unfair of you this morning, saying everything you had to say and leaving before I could give you an answer." She couldn't quite bring herself to look at him in the face.
"I told you, I don't trust-"
"I know what you said." Sasuke interrupted her, his face carefully blank. His obsidian eyes shifted over to the taller man next to him. "And you put your trust in people you barely know? Who is this guy Sakura? I know for sure that he isn't one of your good friends. Sai said the only friends you had were from the Akatsuki, but I know for a fact that he isn't a member."
"How would you know?" Sakura snapped, growing slightly flustered at his sudden words. "Plus, Sai doesn't know every single little detail about my life."
He frowned, slightly surprised at the fact that she hadn't found the connection yet. "Nevermind, I'm not going to tell you if you can't figure it out for yourself." He muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Anyways, I'm glad to see you're fine. I was just worried." He turned away from her, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I just want you guys to leave me alone right now." Sakura said sternly, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sorry if this is going to sound harsh, but I'm going through a rough time right now and I really don't feel like hanging out with you or Naruto."
"Classmate of yours?" Shino asked flatly. "Well if he's bothering you we can have him reported for harrassment."
"Shino-san, I really don't think that's necessary." Sakura nervously said, tugging on hiss sleeve. "Let's just leave."
Sasuke didn't follow her as she started to walk again, the mysterious man right by her side. He stood still, his dark eyes following her back as she slowly disappeared from view.
He didn't miss the way the man named Shino turned around to look at him one last time.
I know who you are.
Sasuke's blood froze.
.
.
.
.
"Okay so listen Sakura-san, we're going to have to gather as many allies as we can right now. We're not going to be able to find many, but in cases like these, it's quality over quantity that counts."
Sakura's head started to ache as she tried to keep up with Shino's quick reasoning.
"And where the hell am I going to find allies at this point?" Sakura asked skeptically. Naruto, Sasuke and the rest were all obviously out of the questions. Sai was out of the picture as well- she tried to think of anyone else who could help her.
"Think, Sakura-san. Who were your allies in the past?"
Her emerald eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding." She blurted out incredulously. "If you think I'm desperate enough to go ask for their help, you're absolutely mistaken."
"They are all extremely powerful. They would make formidable allies, and they obviously are not your enemies right now."
"What makes you even think that they'll agree to help me?" Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I was the one who abandoned them. They don't forgive and forget easily- why should I be of any exception? I was lucky to leave unscathed."
Shino let out a sigh. It was rare for him to show any emotions, but Sakura could clearly see he was frustrated with her right now. "Sakura-san, there has to be a reason that they let you leave without harming you. Maybe it was because they actually considered you to be an important person to them- maybe even a friend."
Sakura spluttered. "You're kidding- we may have been partners but I wouldn't go as far as to call us friends." She didn't sound too convinced at her own words. "I mean... we had some great times but I betrayed them. If I was in their position, I would never forgive myself." Her eyes slightly saddened, remembering her days with them.
"We need all the help we can get right now." Shino told her, a little more sternly. "If you want to survive, you have to learn to move on and face the problems from your past. Perhaps it isn't them who can't forgive you. Maybe you just can't forgive yourself."
Sakura sighed dejectedly, as Shino handed her the phone.
"It's now or never." He told her.
She took a deep breath and dialed a number she thought she never would've called again.
.
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.
.
I wish I'd have died in your arms
The last time we were together,
So I wouldn't have to wake up without you
Today.
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A/N: Make an author happy and review :3?