Bleck... Well, I was just informed this evening that my aunt does NOT get 28 days of leave before getting shipped to Afghanistan. They gave her two days notice saying that she would get a week of leave, which would have started today... But after spending two thousand dollars on a plan ticket on such short notice, they called her a few hours ago to tell her she doesn't even get that much. Oh joy. So not only did my aunt waste two thousand dollars, nonrefundable, but my grandparents, who live off barely any retirement money, spent a thousand dollars on tickets and now can't get those refunded either
Joys of the military.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do now own an ulcer thanks to the explanation above.
"I'll see you soon, my daughter…" The beautiful woman whispered with a loving smile. My eyes flew open with a jolt, and I shot upright.
"Sakura?" Gaara questioned, alarmed by my sudden awaken and heavy breathing. "Are you all right?" He asked, putting a hand on my back.
"I…" I took a deep breath. What the hell was that? I wondered as I took in frantic breaths. I don't remember what I dreamt about, but it sure as hell scared the shit out of me… I thought, frowning deeply as I tried to recall. "I don't know… I think I had a bad dream…"
"It didn't look like it… You were sleeping very peacefully." Gaara said in a slightly confused tone. I rubbed my forehead with my eyes closed for a moment before opening them and lowering my hand to my lap. Gaara placed his hand over mine, his other hand still against my back.
"That's so strange…" I muttered, sighing softly.
"You can't remember it?" He asked and I nodded. I ran a hand through my long hair and frowned.
"I need to get this cut. It was okay to have it so long when I wasn't a shinobi, but now that I am again, it's too much work to keep it clean and brushed." I said suddenly and Gaara nodded.
"I liked it better short anyway." Gaara said as he toyed with the ends of my hair absentmindedly.
"Gaara… You're worried." I said softly, recognizing his expression and actions that indicate his worry. "What about?"
"There are only two Jinchuuriki left, Sakura. Naruto and the Raikage's brother… They're being kept hidden without their knowledge, but I can't help but think that they'll realize what's happening." Gaara said with a sigh.
"Gaara…" I began hesitantly, gaining his attention. "I think you're right. I think they will realize it." I said and he frowned. "But I don't think it's a bad thing."
"…We are talking about the same Naruto here, right?" He asked pointedly and I smiled slightly.
"Look, I spoke with him recently… Not even two months ago. He's changed a lot, Gaara. He's responsible and actually stops to think before doing things. He's strong, too, Gaara. Damn strong." I said before looking at him determinedly. "And I pray he's there on the battlefield, Gaara, because we're damn well going to need him."
I spun around and threw my leg out, my foot colliding with a solid block of sand, causing it to burst into little grains of sand. The instant it burst, though, it solidified again in the shape of a block. Without hesitation, I slammed my fist into it, and it solidified again. Then, another one appeared behind me at the same time the first one came at me. I kicked one and punched the other, but they immediately reformed.
I sparred for almost an entire hour until I was panting heavily from being so worn out. "Break." I called to Gaara, who stood several feet away, and he nodded curtly at me. "How was it?" I asked as he walked closer to me.
"You went for almost ten minutes longer than last time." He stated and I nodded.
"Not quite as much as I wanted, but I'll take what I can get." I grunted as he handed me a bottle of water. I smiled gratefully at him before drinking the entire thing quickly. "Are you hungry?" I asked him when I was done drinking and he nodded.
"Come." He said, immediately taking my hand and lifting us into the air on his sand.
"By all means, don't ask for my permission." I said teasingly and he glanced at me before focusing on where he was taking us. It only took a minute before he took us to the ground in front of a small restaurant. I smiled as he led me into the place. The waitress paused in surprise before grabbing two menus and quickly leading us toward a booth slightly separated from the rest. I sat down across from Gaara and took my menu, noticing that several people around us had quieted down and began to speak in hushed whispers, sending glanced my way.
"Hm. I didn't realize I was so popular." I murmured with a small frown.
"It's not every day someone tries to kill the Kazekage." Gaara mused without even looking up from his menu, and I grinned.
"You think they'd have enough sense to stop muttering about me then. After all, I must be one crazy ass chick if I was trying to kill you." I said teasingly and he chuckled softly. "So when's the next meeting?" I asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. It will be whenever and wherever the Raikage decides to have us gather everyone at. The battle is coming soon…"
"Yeah… I noticed that everyone's really busy. I haven't seen Temari or Kankurou yet, and I've been coming here the last two weekends…" I said thoughtfully.
"Kankurou's been busy with the Kage's, going from village to village plotting out his attacks. And Temari's been helping Shikamaru plan in Konoha." Gaara explained and I nodded.
"How is Konoha anyways? I heard it was being rebuilt pretty fast." I recalled with a small smile.
"It is. It's going a bit slower now that so many shinobi are busy, but it's almost halfway rebuilt already. Carpenters are going there from all over the place, even from other countries. In fact, almost all of our carpenters went there the second we heard." Gaara said and I blinked in surprise.
"Really? Wow… I kind of hope this whole working together thing will last, but I'm not naïve to really believe it would."
"I understand what you mean. It's almost peaceful…" Gaara murmured and I grinned.
"Well, except for the crazy psychopath trying to kill us all." I pointed out with a small laugh. Gaara let out a soft chuckle, effectively silencing the people behind us from sheer shock. "You need to get out more, Gaara. You'd have more friends if you smile." I teased, poking my tongue out at him. I was shocked when he immediately kissed me, pulling away only when the need for air became evident. After we caught our breath, I raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, ignoring the fact that everyone was silent in the restaurant.
"Don't stick your tongue out. One might see it as an invitation." He said simply as our food arrived. I thanked the waitress as she carefully set down my plate and then scurried away.
"Good lord, Gaara. I love you, you know that?" I asked with a grin and he just nodded, causing me to roll my eyes playfully. I looked around the restaurant, frowning slightly. "It's so strange."
"What is?" Gaara asked curiously as he ate.
"Being here again after so long…" I mused quietly. "It's very… nostalgic." Gaara didn't say anything, so I just silently continued eating until we were both done. After paying the check, we left and headed back to the training field, where he attacked me and I evaded until nightfall.
I was standing in front of the bathroom sink, my hair wet and tied up in a bun. I was staring at my hands, slowly bending each finger to my palm. However, none of the fingers on my right hand would bend all the way. In fact, none of my fingertips on my right hand would even move, so I was only bending them up to the middle of each finger. "Damn…" I muttered, narrowing my eyes. I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror, immediately gasping and stumbling backwards in surprise.
I was covered in blood from hundreds of gashes all across the left side of my body. My back slammed into the wall, the towel rack smacking painfully into my shoulder. I blinked in shock and when I opened my eyes, I looked perfectly normal again. Minus the pale skin and trembling limbs, that is. What the hell was that? I asked, stunned and honestly afraid of what I just saw. I reached up shakily and rubbed my sore shoulder, staring intently at the mirror, half expecting it to show me bleeding to death again.
When it didn't after five minutes, I sighed and started to get dressed. Afterwards I walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed, and made my way towards the living room. I almost made it, too, and probably would have if not for a certain blonde haired woman barreling into me and hugging me all the way to the ground. "Ouch! Jesus, Temari!" I yelped, laughing slightly as the woman hugged me.
"It's about damn time! It's been forever!" She said, hugging the life out of me.
"Tem… Need air." I teased and she pulled away, standing up and offering me her hand. I took several deep breaths before taking it, letting her yank me to my feet. "Good lord, woman. You act like we didn't meet just a couple months ago." I mock complained and Temari rolled her eyes at me.
"That's cause we didn't even really talk. I hugged you and made plans to talk to you, but someone bailed." Temari reminded me and I frowned. That's right… I completely forgot… I thought, tilting my head to the side. I felt bad because Shikamaru's mentor was killed by the same people who tried to kill me… Weird. I don't feel anything about it now. Guess I just realized it wasn't even remotely my fault.
"Sorry about that. It's complicated." I said, waving it off. No need to tell them that the same now-dead Akatsuki team that killed her boyfriend's mentor was after me too. "So I heard Sasuke's a crazy ass mother fucker now." I said with a playful note, but Temari became very serious.
"Yeah, he sure is… Sakura, how out of the loop have you been kept?" She asked seriously and I met her gaze strongly.
"Less so than you all." I admitted and Temari blinked in surprise.
"How?" She asked with a frown.
"Tem, I've been living as a medic on the Land of Wind's border for two years. We have hundreds of different breeds of passerby's, ranging from shinobi to cold-hearted peasant thieves. And I'm the one they all come to first. Well, except for Shinobi, since I hide from them. Point is, I hear everything from people who aren't shinobi. And you'd be surprised how much more they know." I said with a soft sigh as we sat down on the sofa.
"I can't believe this… What do you know?" She asked and I frowned.
"I know that the Akatsuki only has three people in it now, Tem. That creepy plant guy, Madara, and Sasuke…"
"Yeah. Don't forget the seven different tailed-beasts just waiting to kill us all. Face it, Sakura. We've got a tiny chance of survival." Temari said with a sigh.
"So?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "I don't see you're point, Temari. Are you trying to insinuate that because the chances of success are so small, we should all just hang up our weapons and call it a day while Madara conquers everything? That's a great plan, Temari!" I exclaimed cheerfully, causing Temari too look at me like I was insane. "Except for one tiny fact." I said, growing deadly serious again. "We're shinobi, Tem. And shinobi do not give in. We do not kneel, bow, grovel, or pray to anyone who isn't our rightful leader." I said, before smiling softly. (Bipolar much? xD)
"Besides… I know that Madara has something up his sleeve…" Temari gave me a 'no-shit-Sherlock' look, but I just smiled. "But I have something even bigger than he could imagine up my sleeve… And only a handful of people know about it." I said softly. "And you won't be one of them, Temari. Not because I don't trust you, but because I won't force you to walk among your panicking friends and family holding back the fact that we have a trump card… and it's that very trump card that win this war and let all of us return home safely."
Temari started at me doubtfully for a few moments before nodded. "I'll take your word for it, Sak, and will settle for praying you're right." She finally said with a heavy sigh. "Anyways, I only came back to grab something I needed. It looks like I'm going to be in Konoha until the next gather, whenever that will be." Temari said as she stood.
"I see. Well, it was good to see you again, Temari." I smiled as we walked towards the door. Just before she left, I hugged her and whispered in her ear. "We'll win this war, Tem. I swear."
"Miyuki, focus." I said with a soft sigh as I sat on a rock several miles away from the town. Miyuki sat on another rock a couple feet away, cross legged with her eyes shut.
"I am, Saki." Miyuki said, her voice calm. I smiled slightly in approval. I was doing very simply exercises to train her to not feel emotions when needed. She would still feel things, but when she was fighting, all emotions would be forgotten. It was actually a very simply procedure that I learned as a child from Chiyo. All you would do is keep your expression and voice completely emotionless while thinking about things that enraged you. Eventually, the emotionless factor would spread to the things that would usually anger you. (Believe it or not, this does work. Not completely, mind you, but because Jeriko is helping to suppress Miyuki's emotions, it does work for her)
It was also a quick process, only taking a few months to perfect. Of course, there would always be things that would cause extreme sorrow or anger, so that's where Jeriko came in. I was working alongside her to trained Miyuki to immediately calm her emotions using a simple word, which I decided to use 'focus' as. This training was more difficult because it took more complex things, but I did it alongside the other training. When Miyuki's emotion control would start to waver while thinking infuriating things, I would say 'focus' and she would start to calm down again.
At first it just made her angrier, but she would slowly calm down. After months, it immediately made her calm down, and it made me smile to see the same effect happen now. She'll be ready for the battle… Thank god. Now we really do have a chance.
Woohoo! Story is coming to it's climax, people! Please review! ^^