Title: If It Were Easy

Summary: Being a shinobi comes with its hazards. Sometimes you have to make choices and live with them.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Prompt: Bravery

Warnings: T for some violence

Comments: See after comments.

The mission was supposed to be simple. An eastern village had contracted them to investigate the recent attacks on the villagers, leaving the population decimated and dozens of people in the local clinic.

"Sakura, you're in charge," Tsunade said. "I want you to take Ino and Karin with you. Sasuke will act as your support while you're caring for the wounded and investigate further."

The village was two days from headquarters, and the group set out immediately upon getting their orders. They made good time the first day; that was one of the benefits of traveling by trees––there was hardly ever any traffic. It was well into night that Sakura called a halt to their progress for the day.

"We're more than half way there," she said after taking a long drag from her canteen. "We should be there by tomorrow noon. Ino take the first watch. Let's get some sleep."

Some time in the stillness of the night, Sakura woke with a jolt. Years of living on high alert had conditioned her body to stay alert even in the throes of sleep, and she knew immediately that something was very, very wrong. She made to turn on her other side, as if she were only trying to find a more comfortable position, and glanced around at her team. Sasuke was on watch, and by the way his hand rhythmically stroked along his katana's handle, she knew he was aware of the danger as well.

Very discreetly, she brought her hands together, waiting for the right moment…

A soft swish came from above, and she unleashed the jutsu. Sharp steel thunked against a log. Her displacement jutsu couldn't have been better timed. At the same time, the camp was suddenly in an uproar. Ino and Karin exploded into action as well, kunai glinting in the moonlight as they engaged their opponents.

She dodged her enemy's next swing, ducking under his guard and delivering a deadly blow to his solar plexus. The man collapsed clutching his side, and it was an easy matter to smash her elbow against the back of his neck, knocking him out cold.

Immediately, she jumped to assist Karin, the weakest combat on their team. Together, they disposed of the enemy in short order. Glancing around, she saw Ino wrapping up her fight.

"Sasuke! Where's Sasuke?" Karin suddenly cried out, searching the clearing wildly.

"Sasuke-kun?" A quick sweep of the area told Sakura enough to make the blood run cold; he was nowhere to be found.

"Looking for your friend?" a voice came from the trees above. A pair of disembodied eyes stared out from the foliage. Then one by one, more eyes were revealed.

"Formation!" Sakura barked out. The three girls stood back to back, waiting for the signal to attack.

"Ah, is that Haruno Sakura I see?" the same voice crooned. "The Godaime sent her own pupil. How interesting.

"Haruno Sakura, I warn you now! Cease and desist from your current path, and we will return your teammate unharmed. But should you choose to continue, we will kill him."

The eyes shrank back into the shadows, leaving the trio alone.

"We need to go after them!" Karin announced immediately. "I can feel their chakra. It's headed due south of us. If we leave now, we can catch up to them within the hour."

"Yes! Let's go! We need to teach those bastards a lesson!" Ino said, hurrying to follow Karin.

"No."

Both women paused at Sakura's flat refusal. Her face was covered in shadows, but it was apparent to anyone that her fists were shaking. "No," she repeated, voice barely above a whisper. "We continue with the mission."

"What?" they cried in unison.

"Are you out of your mind? They're going to kill him!"

"Sakura… He's your teammate, the love of your life! We can't just abandon him!"

"You––you call this love?" Karin demanded. "You've got a pretty sick definition if you're willing to let him die for a mission!"

"If this is some kind of attempt to prove yourself, Sakura, don't––"

"You think this is easy for me?" Sakura burst out finally. "You think I want to leave Sasuke-kun behind to these scumbags? But let's face it; he's a capable shinobi. He can take care of himself. And this group of renegades has shown if nothing else tonight that whatever is taking place at that village is important enough for them to ambush and hold a shinobi hostage. There are hundreds of lives at stake here, and rather than running off to rescue one man, I… I choose to trust that he in his ability."

Her eyes bore into those of her subordinates, determination blazing bright.

"We continue to the village," she repeated coldly, jumping to the nearest tree. To her secret relief, she heard the other two follow her lead. Face set in grim lines, she bent her knees and leapt.

"Let's go."

Author's Note:

Wahhh! I'm so sorry that this is late! OTL Life got in the way... T-T

But! I finally wrote this up! I know I don't use "Bravery" here, but I couldn't find a way of slipping it in without making it looked contrived.

The second half should be coming up tomorrow (fingers crossed) under Impulsive!

~dydshark