Here we are again friends. I'm back in action after a long time finding myself again. This next chapter feels rushed in my eyes because I wanted to get something out for you guys before my QCS exams in like, 5 hours. I need sleep. ._.
Oh well, without further adieu, I present to you, chapter 10 of Broken. Remember. Read and review younglings. xo
Naruto's mind was a mess. It seemed that he could never find peace of mind since he became Hokage and it was wearing him out. He only felt free when he was with Ino. She brought out the light in him. He was just beginning to drift off when a light tapping echoed from his office door accompanied by a soft, sweet voice. "Naruto? You free or do you want me to come back later?"
"Nah I just finished up." He waited. Nothing happened. "Um, Ino?" He called out quizzically.
"Yeah?" She responded, still making no attempt to open the door.
"You, um. You realize you can come in right?" He watched as the door creaked open and his favourite blonde bombshell poked her head through the crack and gazed around the room until she met his eyes.
"Sorry I thought I had to wait for the order or something. I mean, I don't know what goes on in the Hokage's office. For all I know you could have had another woman in her or maybe even two." Her eyes widened in mock disbelief before cracking into a laughing fit. She then suddenly turned very serious and fixed Naruto with an icy stare and uttered a few simple but powerful words. "You wouldn't ever cheat on me, would you Naruto-kun?" She sauntered over to him and glided her index finger across his cheek before tracing his slightly parted lips and leaning in so he could feel her warm breath on his ear. "You'd never do that to your poor Ino would you, esteemed Hokage?"She'd always had this effect on him, ever since he could remember. His speech froze up and his mouth just opened and closed like a fish out of water and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed; not that he'd let his embarrassment show of course."Aww, did I embarrass poor Naruto-kun?" she whispered again, throwing in a giggle for good measure.
"Well shit, she saw straight through that one." He thought with a sigh before finally composing himself and replying "No way" he laughed and scratched his head. "You just caught me off guard is all. And nah, I don't think there's a single girl in this village that could ever compare to you in my eyes darling." That was all it took. A few simple words and Naruto had her swooning over how sweet and kind he was and how he was the best boyfriend any girl could ever have. It'd become habit over the years to just zone out whenever Ino went off onto a tangent like this and this situation was no different. He let his mind focus on the way her lips moved while she spoke and the pearly white orbs that they concealed. He focused on the way her hair was slightly disheveled from the strong winds outside of his office. He focused on her eyes. Those wide cerulean orbs so full of happiness and something else that he couldn't quite pick; was it hope? Or was it something else? Ambition perhaps? No, it was darker in nature. Something was on her mind and he was now determined to know what it was. "Ino," he watched her speech come to a halt as she noticed the hard glint in his eyes. "This isn't what you came here for and I know that. Now come on, what do you want to say?" She glanced at him momentarily before speaking.
"Naruto," her words stumbled and she cleared her throat before continuing with a firm tone. "I want to know why you refused my father's request to send aid to Kakashi. Hell, who knows? Maybe more ninja's would shorten the mission length and maybe he'd be able to come back to us sooner." She took a deep breath before finishing her piece. "Maybe he'd be able to come back to Sakura sooner.." She watched as his face tightened and she could see the weight of his duty turning his normally crystal blue eyes to a dull azure. She could almost feel his distress and it was in that moment that she knew he had a good reason for doing what he had done.
"Dear Kami I know Ino. I know he needs help and I know it'd shorten the time but I can't do it. You have no idea how much of a struggle it was to stop myself from going after him myself but I can't, I belong here in the village and the simple fact is, I can't afford to send anyone else. The reason is Sakura."
She frowned in confusion. "What does Sakura have to do with your order?" She growled, slightly angered by the fact that she couldn't begin to understand what he was talking about.
"Tell me, if I put up an assignment to support Kakashi on an S rank mission that has the potential to last for 3 years, who would take it? No one wants these kinds of missions Ino. Only ninja's with a deathwish take these kinds of missions on their own free will and I don't want to force that burden on any more high ranked nin. I can only think of one person who'd be so keen to ride off to Kakashi's rescue." He watched as realization dawned on Ino's face.
"Sakura would take it!" She exclaimed, all previous anger forgotten. "She'd take it in a heartbeat if it meant she could see him." She paused for a moment, another look of confusion conquered her face before she turned back to Naruto. "Wait, what's the problem with Sakura taking the mission? She's a capable Jounin class ninja with a fair number of A missions under her belt and even a few S ranks. Why can't she go?" She questioned.
"Think of one of the fundamental rules of the ninja. Conceal or destroy all emotions on the battlefield. They'd be too busy concentrating on each other rather than paying any heed to themselves. It'd get them both killed and I'm not ready to lose two more friends this early in this god damn life." He could see the gears turning in her mind before she concluded their conversation with a powerful tone of finality.
"So you're not sending Kakashi any help?"
"No. He's going to have to manage this one on his own."
She looked him in the eyes for a few moments before turning and making her way swiftly towards the door. With a hand on the doorknob, she spoke with her back still turned to him. "I'm sorry Naruto. You've done the right thing." Without waiting for an answer she departed the room, leaving Naruto in a lonely silence where the very air seemed to be thick in his lungs. He ran his fingers through his hair before heaving a loud sigh and turning to look out over the Hidden Leaf Village. His village. He dropped another sigh before settling down in his chair to take care of the large stack of paperwork that he'd been avoiding all day. "I hope you make it back safely Kakashi. For your sake, my sake, and especially Sakura's sake."
She'd spent the past couple of hours roaming around the village with no particular goal in mind; her mind never focused on what surrounded her but instead was off on an adventure to save her crimson-eyed lover from his impending doom at the hands of an nefarious ninja who just wanted to kidnap him and turn him into her own little play toy. "Wait what? You totally did not just imagine that happening Sakura! And you call Kakashi a pervert!" She shook her head in embarrassment and could feel the blush threatening to claw its way onto her face. She stood still for a few for moments to compose herself when she realized something. "You're doing it again! Stop!" She rubbed her forehead with an exasperated sigh before resuming her journey around the village. She was looking for something to entertain her but she had no idea where to go so she figured it'd only be a matter of time before she came across someone who could keep her attention for more than a few minutes. Her journey continued for 10 more minutes before she growled and slammed her fist into a nearby tree, cracking the bark and drawing sap from the defenseless piece of foliage. She rubbed her eyes and proceeded to take in her surroundings. She'd subconsciously taken herself to training ground 3. The start of everything for her. This was where she began her life as a Kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf and truly began living her life the way she'd always dreamt; with friends by her side and a kunai in her hand, taking on the world. Atleast, that's how it had been for a while anyway. "I don't honestly know what happened next. Everything just, fell apart after Sasuke left." She knew it was true. Her former love interest had torn the Konoha twelve apart at the seams. "We all sort of drifted apart after that. Life took on a new tone of seriousness. There were always more missions and always more pain." It started off small but the pains that they suffered both mentally and physically got more and more taxing until they began to lose friends. Her mind flashed back to Sai and Yamato for a moment before she buried those images deep within her conscious again, she wasn't quite ready to face that thunder just yet. Sometimes she felt an urge inside her that just wished that everything could go back to the way they were all those years ago but then she realizes that those thoughts are the thoughts of a child. A scared little child who can't handle the weight of her responsibilities and she was determined to not be that girl. That was her own personal fight she had to win every morning just to keep moving on with her life and getting stronger. She promised herself that she'd be stronger before Kakashi's return in 3 years. She would survive and she knew that. "I just miss you so much Kakashi. Please come back to me."
Kakashi sneezed; "Someone must be talking about me back home.." he murmured to himself, the ghost of a smile lingering on his face, hidden by his trademark mask.
"Pardon me? Did you say something dear?" Whispered a sultry voice in his ear. It belonged to a scandalously dressed lady who was in the process of trying to hide the fact that she was robbing him by rubbing her less than subtle bust in his face.
"Oh no it was nothing, although I would like to ask whatever possessed you to try and rob me of my coin purse. I mean, you coulda just offered me your services and I would have paid from my proper coin purse." He put emphasis on the word proper and watched as she realized that the purse she had snagged was full of nothing but counterfeit cash.
"Well why didn't you say something honey? I'll be more than happy to, entertain you." She finished with a small lick to the lobe of his ear. He was getting tired of this woman and he honestly felt repulsed even though she was far from unattractive."This is your doing, my little cherry blossom." He chuckled to himself silently before turning his attention back to the young woman currently trying to take a seat in his lap.
"Unfortunately, you blew you chance when you tried to rob me darl, now if you'd be so kind to get off my lap and remove yourself from my presence; it'd be much appreciated. Thanks." He flashed her a fake eye crinkle and went back to sipping his scotch whiskey and he resumed the job he was there for; eyes drifted to his target and he would have coughed up his drink if he hadn't been such a weathered ninja. He took another sip through his mask before fully taking in the scene before him. Azuri Kyraba was sitting not even 3 tables away from the man who'd effectively melted half of her body till it looked like some weird kind of bacon strip. He chuckled at the thought and continued his subtle, one-eyed analysis of the situation. She was sitting across from a man with jet black hair with a show pony blonde streak through the fringe that hung low over his face, hiding it from Kakashi's peering eyes. Even his keen hearing couldn't catch what they were discussing, not that he was surprised. These were S rank missing nin after all. He was surprised to find them meeting so obviously in a place like this in the first place especially knowing that Kakashi was in the area. He was worried that leaving his mask on during his transformation jutsu would give him away but they hadn't shown any signs of recognizing him since he arrived so he settled with leaving it on. Somewhat of a personal memento of who he was and everything he stood for. A strong reminder of what he'd left back home in the Hidden Leaf Village. His mind flashed back to Sakura lightly pressing her lips to the small piece of fabric that was wrapped tightly around the lower portion of his face. He thought he could almost smell the lipbalm she was wearing the day; cherry chapstick. "Cherry Chapstick for my Cherry blossom, suiting flavor for a girl like her." He chuckled again before shaking her form his mind and turning his attention back on his mission once more. He was determined not to be distracted by his little lover back home in Konoha any longer. He needed to finish this accursed mission so he could get back home to her as quickly as possible. In his mind, these next three years could not pass quick enough.