Author's notes:
I wanted to thank everyone who's been reading and following this story. This is my first attempt at fanfiction and I know I bit off a lot by choosing this couple that a lot of people have strong feelings about. I wanted to apologize for spelling Sasuke's name wrong. I didn't even notice until someone pointed out. Also the first version of chapter 2 I posted was the non-edited version. Nothing major was changed plot wise but if you want, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to go back and check to see if you've read the right version. Please be patient with me while I figure out this website's formatting and my own writing style. Grammar is not my strong suit either, which is one of the reason's I'm here working to improve my writing. Anyway, let's get back to the story!
Sasuke was awoken short hours later by the sound of water running and soft, morning light spilling across the living room where he was sleeping. He sighed and sat up raking his hand through his ebony locks as he tried to make sense of everything that had happened the night before. That nightmare had been one of the worst ones he'd had since the end of the war. Even now the lingering tendrils of it in his mind had him trembling. Irritated that his own mind could cause him to act so weak he stood up and stalked over to the kitchen sink grabbing a glass and filling it with cold water. He downed it letting the coolness help to blow away the last cobwebs of sleepiness from his consciousness. He set the glass down on the counter and then noticed a series of envelopes sitting in the entry way. Curious, he walked over and picked them up studying each one. The first one was plain white and said "To Sakura From Kiba" on the front. It was probably the details about the demonstration and most likely harmless so he tossed it onto the table and shifted his attention to the rest of the pile.
The second one was in a pink envelope and had hand drawn cherries drawn all over it. It was addressed to Sakura from "her biggest fan" and he snorted. It was probably from a member of the 'fan club' Naruto had mentioned. He was willing to bet money that this one had picked the pink envelope because it matched the color of her hair. Moving on, he fingered a blue envelope and frowned, it smelled heavily of cologne and the greeting on the front was one that screamed overconfidence. "To Sakura from your future lover". His hand twitched and it took every ounce of willpower if possessed not to turn the stinking envelope and its contents to ash with his fire jutsu. He shoved it to the back of group too but made a note to find it again later and find out who the sender was. Once he found that out, he was going to pay the man a visit and teach him a lesson about respecting women, particularly this one.
The last letter was different all together. The handwriting scrawled across it was angry and rough. Nearly tearing the envelope in some places. Its greeting was just as angry. "Traitor" was scrawled across it in large lettering and it made his skin prickle in an uncomfortable way. Having been among people of the darkest nature for much of his life, he knew the cycle of violence better than just about anyone. The person who had written on this envelope seemed to be on that path and Sakura was one of their targets. It made him extremely uneasy and he warred with the part of himself that wanted to respect her privacy and the part that demanded to know what was in the letter so that he could protect her from whomever had written it.
"Hey. I'm sorry if I woke you." Sakura said as she entered the main living space wrapped in a white robe water still dripping from her blush colored locks. "Is anything wrong?" she asked her brow furrowing at what Sasuke assumed was the dark expression on his face.
He tossed the rest of the envelopes onto the kitchen table and gestured to them with his hand clearly expressing that they were the source of his bad attitude.
She blinked and walked forward groaning as she recognized what they were. "Darn it all! I keep telling them to send letters through the official mail service." She muttered stalking forward. Her hand went first to the letter from Kiba and she smiled as her eyes scanned over the piece of paper. "He wants me there at nine am. Perfect! That gives me plenty of time to go over all of the basics in addition to some combat practice." She said putting the letter down.
Sasuke let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Of all of the letters there, Kiba's was the least threatening but that hadn't keep him from being worried.
She sat down at the table and her hand moved to the second envelope that was pink and covered in hand drawn cherries. A little smile touched her lips as she opened it and it widened as her eyes moved across the page. Sasuke felt his heart pound in his chest and a terrible feeling slithered through his veins like a snake. He felt anxious because she was smiling and blushing at words that were written by some other man. Could her heart have changed over the past year? He didn't think so after what had happened last night but perhaps her love had shifted to one of a sister towards a brother? The thought made his heart drop in a way he didn't like at all and he found himself sitting down across the table from her trying desperately to keep his panic from showing on his face.
"Who is that one from?" he asked struggling to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
She looked up from the letter and smiled as she carefully folded it up and slipping it back into its envelope. "It's from Haku." She said tracing her fingers over the envelope her eyes filled with warmth. It only made the awful feeling in the pit of Sasuke's stomach worse as he struggled to keep himself from prying further. Thankfully, she answered his unspoken question for him. "When the leaf village was destroyed by Pain, it took a long time for us to locate and treat all of the wounded. Haku was only five years old at the time when Naruto and I stumbled upon him hiding in a pile of rubble. We tried to pull him out but he fought us in spite of his terrible injuries saying that he couldn't leave someone behind. We pulled him to safety and found his infant brother completely unscathed. Neither of us could believe it and we brought them to camp and started treating their injuries. He was such a trooper. He lost his left leg but he never let it slow him down." She smiled at the letter again. "He said that he wants to be like me when he gets older because I was able to put him back together again." She giggled. "He said to me, 'Anyone can break something but only someone special can put it back together again.'"
Sasuke felt weight lift from his shoulders at the revelation and his heart swelled with pride towards his friend and teammate. She had touched so many lives for good using her gifts and it amazed him more and more as he heard the stories.
Her hand then shifted to the blue envelope and she wrinkled her nose at the strong stench of cologne that wafted off of it. "Good Kami!" she hissed promptly picking up the offending paper and tossing it into the garbage can. "Get a clue!"
"Who is that one from?" he asked. "It stinks."
She nodded. "It's from some guy named Renji. I healed him once after the destruction of the village and he somehow got the idea that I like him because I examined him from the waist down."
Sasuke's fist clenched at the thought and then loosened. She was a medical ninja, things like that were just part of her work. He was sure she'd probably seen most of the ninja both male and female in the village naked or close to it while treating their wounds. Hearing about it though was something he didn't like.
She sighed. "I had to! The idiot had given himself a hernia trying to act like a big shot. He's the spoiled son of a merchant family and he honestly thought he could lift as much lumber as Rock Lee. What and idiot! I mean, Lee is impossibly strong already and you know how serious he is about everything he does. Gui sensei could barely keep up with him! Anyway, he got the wrong idea and has been trying to go out with me ever since."
"I see." Sasuke said relaxing. He still didn't like this Renji character, and was determined to find out who he was, but he'd decided to spare his life. For now at least. Sakura could almost match Lee in terms of strength when she was serious so this boy was no threat to her. He turned his thoughts and attention back to her and studied her very closely as she moved to the last envelope. Her brow furrowed slightly and she frowned indicating to him that this one, was the first of its kind. She opened it carefully and her eyes shifted as she read over the angry scrawl. He watched her eyes and the emotions in them carefully. They went from confused, to irritated, to hurt, and finally anger.
"What is this?" she hissed. "Nosy hag and her nasty excuse for a son!"
"What's wrong Sakura?" he asked forcing his face to be impassive even as his tension level rose.
She crumpled up the paper and tossed it away before slamming her fists onto the table leaving two indents in the wood.
"People can be so stupid!" she snarled. "My next door neighbor is an older woman who was a big supporter of Donzo's back before everyone found out what a slime ball he really was. She's never liked me because of how close I am to Lady Tsunade, Naruto, and you. Her son moved in with her a few months after I moved here because he wanted to protect her from my 'dangerous' allies but I wasn't stupid. I saw how he looked at me. He's the reason I don't air dry my clothes anymore." She balled her hands into fists again and she glared at the wall separating her apartment from the writers of the angry letters. "They've noticed that you're staying here with me and now she's threatening to report me to the apartment managers for giving shelter to a murderous psychopath." She snorted. "If she wants to talk about a psychopath she should take a good look at the man living in her own apartment. I'm not the only one whos underclothes mysteriously vanished after he moved in."
Sasuke's jaw tightened as he too glared at the wall separating them from their apparent assailants. That man was likely the reason she'd instinctively grabbed a kunai when he showered his first day back. A little pang of guilt stabbed him as he realized that he was the cause for their outburst. He opened his mouth to apologize but shut it when he found a small but powerful fist inches from his face.
"If you apologize for being here I'll knock you out. I invited you here." She snarled. "Besides, it's not like this is the first time she's threatened to do this. She sends me the same stupid letter whenever Naruto visits claiming that I'm endangering the complex by having a monster in my apartment willingly." She hissed and stalked to her bedroom. "I swear if that woman didn't have osteoporosis I would've punched her in the face by now. I'm going to get dressed then I'll make us some breakfast ok? You can go ahead and use the shower." She said as she disappeared into her room closing the door firmly behind her.
He sighed and decided that a shower would do him some good and pulled a change of clothes from his bag and retreated to the bedroom. He turned on the tap and sighed as the cool water splashed onto his face helping to clear his mind and body of tension. He braced his forearms on the cool tile in front of him and bowed his head as he fought for calm. There was no reason to kill the people living next door the Sakura. The woman sounded like a bitter old hag, and the man seemed to be just a run of the mill pervert who probably deserved a black eye, a broken rib or three and maybe a snapped femur for touching Sakura's clothes but not death. The faint sound of tile scraping against tile and paper rustling caught his attention and he straightened up. He focused his senses on the kitchen and heard Sakura humming to herself a tune that he didn't recognize and the distinct sound of eggs dropping into heat and sizzling accompanied by the smell of cooking. There was no way that sound was related to her. Very carefully, he stepped out of the rushing water and onto the bath mat, leaving the water running as he wrapped a towel around his waist. He closed his eyes and focused on the direction where the noise seemed to originate from and then opened them again revealing blood red irises taking in every detail of the small bathroom and looking for anything out of the ordinary. His brow furrowed a little as he saw nothing out of place and then sighed wondering if he was just being paranoid. He moved his hands back to the towel at his waist and was about to remove it and step back into the water when he saw a flicker of movement just to the right of the shower. He moved towards in the blink of an eye and focused on the spot. It was a small hole, no bigger than the size of a dime near the seam where the tile of the shower started and the thin wall of the bathroom began. He squatted down and closed one eye peering into the hole and found it extended through the entire wall revealing a much dirtier bathroom. His heart began to pound and he took a deep breath trying to contain the murderous rage seeping into his blood. The building was old, holes like these were bound to happen especially in this venerable spot where water and steam were able to wear away the integrity of the wall. Relax. He told himself. Closing his eye for a moment, he opened it again when he felt calmness coming back to him and then as abruptly as he found his peace, he lost it again as he found a beady grey eye looking back at him. He flew back away from the wall as his anger ignited. He'd changed his mind. The pervert on the other side was going to die a horribly painful death by his own hand. His hand balled into a fist blue lightning crackling around it as he contemplated burning the fool alive or slicing him into ribbons with his sword.
The bathroom door suddenly swung open and he whirled around his hand raised as his lips curled over is teeth in a terrifying display of anger that had frozen men in their tracks with fear before. However the one that burst through the door was a woman and a fearless one at that.
"Sasuke! What's wrong? I felt your chakra flare." She asked dressed now in a red shirt, a pair of black shorts and a pink skirt.
The concern on her face was like a drizzle of rain on the flames of murderous intent raging inside of him and he immediately unclenched his hand letting the lightning retract back into the core of his being. He moved quickly pushing her out of the bathroom and slamming the door closed behind them pressing a finger to her lips in a clear signal to stay quiet for a moment. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing and rested his hands on her shoulders taking comfort in her presence. At least here, that pervert couldn't see or touch her.
"Sasuke?" she asked again.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again the redness replaced with black once again. He shook his head. "Let's hurry up and get going." He said not trusting himself to stay in the apartment much longer. "I'll explain everything later." He said dropping his hands from her shoulders and moving into the living room. He grabbed a second set of clothes and sighed. They were old and something he didn't care to wear anymore but if he went back into that bathroom to retrieve his other clothes, he'd probably walk out with the head of a creeper in his hands and that probably wouldn't sit well with Sakura. "Can I change in your room?" he asked as it occurred to him that he was wearing only a towel.
"Sure. Go ahead." She replied blushing.
He smirked at her reaction to his body and carried the clothes into her room and quickly slipped into them. Realizing that he'd never been in this room for an extended amount of time, he glanced around noting the simple design. A framed painting of her, Naruto, Sai and Captain Yamato caught his attention and he moved closer to it. In the picture, she was standing under a tree, a gloved hand resting on her hip which was popped out, a playful smirk on her lips. Naruto had his arms crossed over his chest grinning from ear to ear leaning slightly towards the pink haired medical ninja. Sai stood next to Naruto his face blank and his arms at his side. Yamato stood behind the four of them his eyes cast down towards them a tired smile tugging at his lips. He glanced at the signature at the bottom and learned that it was Sai's work. He reached out and touched the face of the pink haired girl with his fingertips. A little sigh of regret escaped his lips. This was likely painted around the same time they'd encountered one another for the first time after he'd left with Orochimaru. He'd never seen that particular expression on her face in person. He wanted to. Maybe if he was lucky he'd get to see it soon. He shook his head and then touched the framed picture of the original team seven on her bedside table before leaving the room.
"There you are." Sakura said cheerfully as she turned towards him. She blinked in surprise at what he was wearing and then snickered. "So you do have other colored shirts beside black." She giggled as she set two plates down on the table.
He groaned and moved to the table sitting down without a word. He was wearing a white shirt similar to the ones he wore when he was with the snake sannin though it wasn't nearly as open in the front. His black pants were thankfully in his normal style and he'd wrapped his ankles and part of his calf with white bandageslike he normally did. It definitely wasn't his outfit of choice but it was better than nothing. He ate much faster than normal desperate to get out of the apartment and was surprised when Sakura finished nearly as quickly as he did. As soon as they got onto the street he breathed a sigh of relief. He was still filled with murderous intent but at least the distance would make the urges a little harder to follow.
"So what are you going to do while I'm with Kiba?" she asked him cheerfully as they walked towards the training grounds. He knew she was trying to lighten his mood but it wasn't going to work, at least not while the pervert was alive and well.
"I need to go deliver my report to Kakashi. I'll probably run into Naruto there which means we'll probably be back here before the ten thirty mark. You know that idiot. He's been itching to have a go at me since I got back to town." He said as they arrived at the chain-link fence marking the beginning of the training grounds.
She giggled and he smirked in spite of his dark mood. He'd made her laugh. That knowledge made him feel warm in a way he couldn't quite explain but he liked it. "You're absolutely right." She said flashing him a brilliant smile. "I'll see you in just over an hour then." She said as she began pulling things out of her pouch laying them out on a square of fabric she'd brought setting up for her demonstration of medical ninjutsu.
"Yeah." He replied. "See you later." Confident that she was safe and sound he turned back towards the village. He walked quickly through the buildings his dark mood still hovering around him as he brooded over the creep and hag next door to Sakura as well as his desire to know more about the dark time she'd spoken of yesterday. Most people caught onto his mood or were just wary of him in general and gave him all the space he wanted as he moved quickly through the streets. As usual though, there was one species that were either clueless to his mood or just didn't care. The fangirls.
"Sasuke!" he heard a shrill voice call out. He didn't even bother to turn to see who it was. It was the blonde from the day before and he didn't have the patience for her or her giggly friends at the moment. He focused on his goal, the Hokage's office building and walked faster even as footsteps followed him trying to catch up. "Sasuke! Wait up!" she cried again a whiny tone slipping into her voice. A shudder ran down his spine at the sound. Karin had used it constantly and it was up there with nails scraping against a chalkboard on the scale of noises that made him want to rip his own ears off. "I said wait!" the blonde demanded grabbing his sleeve.
He whirled on the girl his eyes blazing, his patience hanging on by a thread. Under normal circumstances he didn't like to touch or be touched by anyone except for a very small number of people which included his late brother, his best friend Naruto, his sensei, now Hokage Kakashi, and his pink haired teammate Sakura. This girl was none of them and he was clearly distressed. Who did this girl think she was touching him like that without permission? Even ditsy Karin had been smart enough to keep her hands off when he was in a mood this dark. He roughly pushed her hand away his eyes flashing ruby red for second at her surprised expression. "Don't ever touch me again." He snarled. The blonde took a step back and her two friend from the day before ran up to her looks of shock on their faces.
"Sauske…" the blonde whined.
"Get lost!" he hissed. Turning around and stalking towards the office building irritation rolling off of him in waves that were nearly tangible as he navigated the streets. Deciding that he'd scared enough people with his rotten mood and desperate to get away from the irritating sound of a heartbroken fangirl sobbing like an idiot in the middle of the street he leapt onto the nearest roof top. With practiced precision and natural talent he dashed across town and landed lithely on the roof of the Hokage's office building just outside the main office. He took a deep breath allowing the wind to ruffle his hair and then turned as he heard the window slide open.
"Hello there Sasuke." Kakashi said moving back from the window so the Uchiha could step inside. "You're starting to pick up my habit of using windows instead of doors."
Sasuke snorted at his sensei and pulled out a stack of papers from his shirt and handed them to the silver haired shinobi. "I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with anyone on the other side of that door right now." He said gesturing to the office door. "So I skipped it completely."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Rough morning?"
Sasuke nodded, "Rough night too." He muttered.
The silver haired man tilted his head and then leaned his elbows on his desk lacing his fingers together and his chin on them. "Want to talk about it?" he asked.
Sasuke glanced at his old teacher and snorted. Kakashi knew him better than almost anyone in the village. The question was just a formality, he wouldn't be in the Hokage's office at all unless he wanted to talk. He nodded and looked down at the floor trying to decide which issue to address first.
"How about we start with last night." Kakashi offered making it easier on him.
Sasuke nodded and looked at his sensei focused on the one visible eye. "Last night, Sakura and I were talking and she mentioned that she'd been in a 'dark place' before you encouraged her to train under Lady Tsunade." He said trying to articulate his thoughts in a way that would make sense. "I was wondering, if you could tell me about it."
Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly at the request. "Why do you want to know?" he asked pointedly.
Sasuke knew the question was coming but it didn't make it any easier. He balled his hand into a fist. "The night I left the village, Sakura found me and offered to come with me." He said looking at the ground. "I left her because I wanted to protect her from my demons and because I knew that if she came along with me, I wouldn't be able to… I mean I…"
"She'd keep you from becoming consumed by the darkness." Kakashi said softly.
Sasuke's eyes widened and then he bowed his head. "Yeah. Anyway, I know that what I did was selfish and shortsighted and caused everyone here nothing but grief." He looked back up at his sensei. "I said once before that I wanted to redeem myself. Make up for all of the awful things I did. Sakura… no matter what I did she never stopped loving me or caring for me. I made her suffer so much and I know that but… I need to know just how much so that I can try to make things right."
"Is that the only reason?" Kakashi asked.
Sasuke blinked and looked away. "I don't know. Lately, I've been feeling differently about her and around her. It doesn't make sense to me but it makes this desire to make everything up to her stronger."
Kakashi sighed and then nodded. "Alright then." He said standing up from his chair. "I'll tell you what I can about that time."
The silver haired shinobi rushed through the trees cursing as he desperately searched for the missing chakra signature. He landed lithely on the ground catching the scent of the missing boy and walked into the nearby park. As he scanned the grounds, his eyes fell upon a small form laying on a park bench. He rushed forward calling out to the bubble gum haired girl kneeling beside her.
"Sakura! Sakura are you alright?" he asked reaching out to lift her head from the concrete bench. He took deep breath recognizing the lingering scent of the missing Uchiha on her clothes as her mint green eyes opened.
"Kakashi Sensei?" she murmured sleepily. Her eyes suddenly widened and panic radiated from her as she gripped his forest green vest in her tiny hands. "Sasuke! He's gone! He left!" she cried out as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I tried! I tried to stop him but he…." She buried her head in his chest. "I couldn't make him stay." She whimpered.
He shook his head sadly and lifted a hand patting her gently on the head. "It's alright Sakura. I know you did everything that you could." He said softly.
She tightened her grip on him and sobbed harder. "But it wasn't enough! It's never enough! I'm so useless!" she screamed her entire body shaking with the force of her sobbing.
His memory then leapt forward to when Naruto left the village with master Jiraiya and he felt something prompt him to check on his last remaining pupil in the hidden leaf. He moved through the roof tops and was surprised when he couldn't find her at home or sitting on the park bench where Sasuke had left her. Finally he found her alone in the training grounds pounding her fists into the trunk of a tree. He leapt in front of her stilling her flying fists with his hands.
"Sakura! What are you doing?" he demanded. Her hands were dripping with blood and her face was wet with tears.
"I'm training." She snarled. "Leave me alone."
"Sakura. This isn't training, this is self-harm." He replied forcing her back.
"Leave me alone!" she snapped leaping away from him.
"I can't do that." He replied leaping to catch her in midair and bringing them both to the ground. "What's this all about? Is it because Naruto left?"
She sniffed at the mention of her teammates name and curled into a ball hugging her knees to her chest. "They've all left me. Left me behind because I'm useless and weak." She murmured. "I can't do anything for them. I want to. I want to be as strong as they are but that'll never happen." She pressed her face to her knees. "I don't deserve to be a part of the team. I'm nothing but dead weight. A stupid little girl who can only watch from the sidelines."
Kakashi sighed his heart aching for his lone female student. What she was doing to herself wasn't fair. Sasuke was from a clan known and feared for their incredible strength and power and Orochimaru had given him more. Naruto was the son of the fourth Hokage and host of the nine tailed fox. By birthright, the pair just had an incredible amount of power. There was nothing that could be done about it. Sakura's parents weren't legendary shinobi, they were just average people. The fact that she was as talented in the ninja ways as she was itself an incredible achievement. Never the less, he could feel the frustration, pain, and depression radiating from her as she sat curled beneath the tree.
"Sakura." He said softly. "You are not weak. You are an invaluable part of this team."
"No I'm not!" she wailed. "Anyone can do what I do! I swore on that day when we were attacked by those sound ninjas in the forest of death that I would get strong enough to protect them but I can't."
He thought for a moment and then knelt down in front of her. "Sakura, did you know that you have the best chakra control of the entire group?" he asked.
She glanced up at him confused. "So what?" she muttered. "It's only because I don't have much chakra to begin with."
He shook his head. "The amount of chakra has nothing to do with it. It doesn't matter how much power you have if you don't know how to control it. That also means that even if you have very little chakra, if you have precise control over it, you can take down opponents much stronger than yourself."
Her eyes widened a little at his words and he knew he was on the right track.
"Really?" she asked wiping away some of her tears with her hand.
He nodded. "That talent also means that you have the potential to be a great medical ninja." He continued.
"Medical ninja? Like Lady Tsunade?" she asked remembering the blonde woman.
"Exactly like Lady Tsunade." He replied with a nod of his head. "She's one of the greatest shinobi in the world and she started out just like you. She was on a team with two guys she thought she'd never be able to compete with."
"Who?" Sakura asked interested.
"She was on a team with Master Jiraiya and Orochimaru." He explained. "In their day, back before Orochimaru betrayed the leaf, they were known far and wide for their power and strength. If anyone knows what you're feeling, it's probably her."
"Do you think she'd be willing to take me on as an apprentice?" Sakura asked her eyes wide and slowly filling with the passion he knew she possessed but that had faded recently.
"I think that could be arranged." He said standing up and extending his hand to her. "It's definitely a better option than sitting her breaking your hands. Leave stupid things like that to Lee alright?"
She giggled a little at the mention of the bushy browed boy and took his hand to stand. "Do you really think I can ever be strong enough to stand beside them?"
He looked down at her taking in her small form and her bloodied hands. "I do." He replied. "Because you are the source of their strength." He thought to himself as he escorted her to the Hokage's office.
Sasuke's head hung as he listened. He couldn't imagine it. Sakura was so strong and confident yet she'd her light had nearly been extinguished by his own selfish actions.
"I had no idea." A rough voice said from behind startling him. There in the doorway stood Naruto. He'd been so wrapped up in Kakashi's story, he hadn't heard him come in.
The blue eyed boy's head hung as he processed what he'd just heard. "It never even crossed my mind that I had left her alone." Naruto said his voice laced with regret.
Kakashi shrugged. "It's all in the past now. She became who she is today because of those two years apart from you two." He glanced at his two pupils. "Besides, she was never truly alone. Tsunade and I both kept a careful eye on her. There were a couple of rough patches that she still had to struggle through but she made it through everything because she wanted to be your strength."
The two young men nodded feeling pride swell within them towards their teammate.
"So, that takes care of last night. What made you raving mad this morning?" Kakashi said as Naruto closed the office door and walked inside.
"Fangirls stalking you?" Naruto offered. "Or did you finally get a peak of some of Sakura's fan mail?" he teased as he laid a stack of paperwork on Kakashi's desk.
"Both and then some." Sasuke muttered pressing his fingers to his temples. "Sakura received a threatening letter this morning from her next door neighbor." He explained.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? That's a surprise. She's the village's best doctor after all. She's well-liked and respected all over the world."
"Well she's harboring a murderous psychopath in her apartment so…" he muttered.
Naruto burst into a fit of laughter. "That old hag again?"
Kakashi glanced over at his apprentice.
"She writes angry letters to Sakura after every time I come over telling her that the apartment complex isn't safe with me around. I'm a frightening beast you know." He explained.
"The only thing that can turn you into a frightening beast is a ramen shortage." Sasuke said with a smirk.
The Hogake shook his head and let out a sigh. "I see. That is a bit irritating but it doesn't explain your dark attitude." He said looking at Sasuke.
"Well, that's only part of it. You see, apparently the old woman's son lives there too and Sakura said that she didn't dry her clothes outside because of him." He explained.
"Ok. I'm starting to get the picture." Kakashi agreed "It still doesn't explain…"
"I found a hold in her bathroom wall today." Sasuke said cutting his teacher off. "When I checked to see how far it went, I found a grey eye looking back at me. I'll give you one guess of who the eye belonged too."
Naruto dropped the stack of papers in his hands and Kakashi's hands clenched.
"Are you serious?" Naruto asked his eyes wide.
Sasuke nodded his hands nearly igniting at the memory.
Kakashi took a deep breath and closed his eye for a moment before he reopened them. "Well gentlemen. It seems we have a little time before our arranged training time. What do you say we pay this neighbor of hers a visit?"
Naruto nodded cracking his knuckles the wind shifting around him as his chakra flared. "I'm all over that." He replied.
Sakura smiled as she watched Ayame a tall but thin girl with brown hair concentrate as she wrote down the names of the medicinal herbs she had laid out for her.
"This is so boring!" her teammate Tamaki a boy with bright red hair and a hot head attitude whined.
"This sort of thing doesn't interest me." The third member of the team Aki, agreed. He was a surly looking boy with green hair and brown eyes.
Ayame smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry guys. I just…"
"Don't apologize." Sakura interjected. "I understand. They think medical ninja are weak and boring right?"
Tamaki nodded right away and Aki shrugged.
Sakura glanced at Kiba who glanced back and nodded a fanged grin cracking his face as he realized her intentions.
"Very well then. Ayame, feel free to continue working on your notes. Boys, you're going to spar with this weak and boring medical ninja." She said smirking at the two eager boys.
"Sensi!" Tamaki cried out. "Are you sure this is alright? We might hurt her."
The dog trainer leaned against Akamaru and nodded. "It's fine with me. I'm more worried about her hurting you."
Aki snorted. "Yeah right."
"It's alright." Sakura replied. "I can always put them back together again." She said with a wink.
Kiba nodded and watched as the three of them moved away from where Ayame was working to a clear part of the grounds.
"Sensie? Is Sakura going to be alright?" the girl asked nervously.
Kiba nodded crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh Sakura will be more than alright. She could thrash me in a fight if she wanted to." Ayame's eyes widened at her teacher's words. "It's those two idiots I'm worried about."
"Alright boys. Give me your best shot." She said smiling as the two boys took fighting stances.
"Don't say we didn't warn you!" Tamaki said drawing a kunia.
The boys rushed her and she quickly dodged their attacks surprising them. They pair went after her again and again but Sakura dodged, blocked and countered never giving the boys a chance to advance. After a few minutes of dodging the redhead got irritated.
"Common! Be serious! You haven't even drawn a weapon!" he growled as sweat dripped down his brow and his breathing came in gasps.
"Oh. I'm sorry." She said reaching into her pouch. The two braced for an attack but were surprised when she pulled out a pair of black leather gloves instead slipping them onto her hands.
"Uh… What are you doing?" Aki asked taking a step back nervously.
Sakura said nothing and smirked as she balled her hand into a fist. Gauging the distance and depth of the ground and the amount of impact she wanted her blow to have she focused some of her chakra into her fist. A small battle cry left her lips just before she struck the ground releasing a little burst of chakra and the ground crack and shifted in response. The two boys were tossed backwards by the shock wave and landed in the river behind them as she straightened up.
Tamaki and Aki quickly surfaced and stumbled to shore. Tamaki fell forward bracing himself on his hands and knees while Aki sat with his hands behind him both of them gasping. Sakura walked forward and the two boys yelped as they scrambled to move away from her.
"Would you like another demonstration?" she asked tugging on her glove.
"No mam'!" Tamiki replied his body trembling and Aki nodded jerkily in agreement.
Loud familiar laughter rang through the training grounds and Sakura turned to see Naruto grinning at her standing beside Kiba.
"You could've gone a little easier on them." Kakashi said from where he stood near the blonde with Sai and Sasuke standing on either side of him.
"Like you're one to talk." She snickered as she walked towards them. "I seem to remember a training session or two where I had to practically crawl home I was so banged up."
Kakashi shrugged and she walked past them to where Ayame stood staring at her in awe. "You're so strong!" she exclaimed as the medical ninja went to work putting the herbs back in her pack.
"I have to be." She said looking down at the girl. "See, a medical ninja can never allow themselves to be killed because if they die, who is going to heal the rest of the team?"
Ayame's eyes widened and then she nodded. "That's true."
Aki and Tamaki walked forward and bowed to her. "Thank you for taking time out to teach us." Aki said.
"Yeah. We'll behave next time." Tamaki said sheepishly.
Kiba nodded and walked forward. "Good job boys. I think you learned several important lessons today. One of which being that you should never underestimate your opponent."
The boys nodded and then glanced at the other shinobi gathered nearby. "Why are they here?" Aki asked.
"Isn't that the Hokage? Naruto and Sai are here too." Tamaki commented.
"I think the guy with the white shirt is Sasuke Uchiha." Ayame said standing up beside her teammates.
"Yup!" Naruto said bounding forward. "Are you done Sakura? I've been waiting all day for this!" he exclaimed.
"Sensie? What is he talking about?" Ayame asked.
"We're just going to do a little training." Sakura explained. "I don't know why Kakashi Sensei is here thought."
"I'm here to make sure you don't completely wreck the training grounds and be the referee." He explained.
"Oh common! Do we really need that?" Naruto whined. Sakura and Sai both raised their brows and the blonde cringed and then sighed. "Fine. What are the rules?" he asked.
"Don't kill each other and no summoning of anything taller than you are." Kakashi said giving both Naruto and Sasuke hard looks.
"Fine." Sasuke replied easily.
"Fun sucker." Naruto muttered.
"In addition, to make things more interesting. I'm going to pair you off." Kakashi said as he looked at the four shinobi. "How about…. Naruto and Sakura vs Sasuke and Sai."
Sakura nodded and walked up to her assigned partner smacking the hand he rose in a high five. "This is going to be awesome!" Naruto exclaimed grinning at her.
Sakura smiled back. They clearly had the advantage. She and Naruto had trained side by side for years and fought together often. Sasuke and Sai were barely acquaintances and were both men of few words. It didn't mean that she and Naruto were guaranteed victory by any means but she felt a little better going into the fight with Naruto by her side. Besides, she still owed Sai a beating for calling her ugly yesterday.
"Are you staying with your squad Kiba?" Kakashi asked the dog trainer.
"Yeah. I'd never miss a chance to watch Sakura dish out some major hurt and it's been a long time since I've seen any of Sasuke's fireworks." He said leaning against Akamaru he turned to his eager looking genin. "You three be careful though. These Shinobi are some of the most powerful in the world, even though they won't be fighting at full strength there is still the chance that things could get a little dangerous. Stay close to the Hokage and I alright?"
The three youngsters nodded and Kakashi nodded in agreement before he turned his attention back to the four warriors. "You guys heard that right? There are little ones nearby so don't go too crazy."
"Yes Sensei!" the four replied in unison before they each took their starting positions.
Sakura bent her knees her hands balling into fists her eyes focused on the two dark haired men opposite her. Naruto shifted his feet into a wider stance and formed knife hands one slightly further forward than the other as he smirked at his opponents. Sai pulled his paintbrush from his bag and his hand opposite hand rested on his scroll of paper as he studied his opponents without a trace of emotion in his eyes. Saskue shifted one of his feet back his good hand resting on the hilt of his sword and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again the black now stained blood red.
"Ready! Go!" Kakahi called out.
Naruto moved first and flung a series of shirtikan at his opponents who easily dodged the attacks. Sakura noticed a flash of black and leapt up avoiding one of Sai's snakes and back flipped into the treetops. She quickly leapt backwards again as Saskue appeared next to her grabbing him by the wrist as she went and forcing him down to the ground slamming her fist into him as they hit the ground cracking the earth as she released a burst of chakra. Sasuke vanished in a puff of smoke and she merely smirked. She leapt forward charging up the trunk of a tree as a flurry of kunai rained down on the spot where she'd just been.
"Dang Sakura! Do you want to kill Saskue?" Naruto asked as he created a rasingon and tossed it as Sai who narrowly missed the ball of air.
"Of course not." She replied as she pushed off the tree and drew a kunai slashing forward at her red eyed opponent. "I knew it wasn't him." Her knife caught the edge of Sasuke's shirt as she flew past him.
"You could've fooled me." Naruto replied shuddering at the girl's monster strength.
Her feet hit the trunk and she pushed backwards changing her target and slammed her fist into Sai's unguarded back smirking when he hit the ground a little grunt of pain escaping his lips.
"That's for calling me Ugly the other day." She remarked before turning her attention back to Sasuke as he blew a fireball at Naruto. Taking advantage of his lapse in attention she moved forward aiming a kick at the back of his knees. He turned just in the nick of time to avoid her attack and reached forward wrapping his hand around her arm and forcing it behind her back. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach at his proximity and instead focused her mind. Moving quickly she slammed her leg back against the Uchiha's making him lose his footing and then leapt backwards forcing him with her and slamming them both back into the tree behind them. He took the brunt of the blow and grunted. His grip on her slipped and she wriggled free and whirled around slamming her fist forward. His eyes suddenly changed color and in a flash he was gone and her fist connected with the tree instead snapping it in two.
The sound of a roar behind her caught her attention and she turned just in time to block one of Sai's painted beasts. It latched onto her forearm and she winced a little at the pain before she slammed it against a nearby tree reducing it to ink. Sasuke and Naruto clashed beside her and she refocused on the paper white boy in front of her. She leapt forward and aimed a kick at her opponents head and yelped as a rasingon whizzed past her.
"What the Hell Naruto!" she shrieked as the ball of wind grazed her leg drawing blood.
"Oops! Sorry!" he replied. "My bad!"
"Damn right!" she exclaimed as she jumped and whipped her leg around connecting solidly with Sai's shoulder. Over the past year, she'd found herself training more often with Rock Lee. It had seemed to help him deal with Gui Sensei's disability and she had to admit, on the days when she was totally sick and tired of her fan club and the pressure of her job a good spar with the boy who never pulled a punch was a welcomed form of stress relief. She'd also picked up a few things including the windmill kick she'd just used to send Sai flying backwards. Her moment of satisfaction was quickly ruined when a giant ink bird appeared and he went soaring into the sky.
"You little punk!" she cried out leaping into the treetops like a cat intent of her fowl prey.
"I got this Sakura!" Naruto called aiming a series of wind slashes at the flying ink bird.
"Sounds good. Let's trade!" she called out changing her direction and focusing her attack on the ruby eyed Uchiha. She pulled out a kunai as she launched at the young man and he drew his sword. Sparks flew as the two collided and she focused only on his blade and his feet avoiding eye contact with him at all cost which proved to be trickier than she imagined. He shifted knocking her feet out from under her and when she bounced back up to face him again, his eyes met hers for a brief moment and she knew she was toast. She immediately stopped her attack and closed her eyes knowing that everything that was going around her was part of an illusion. Her hands came together as she focused on stopping the flow of chakra in her body. She then refocused disrupting that same flow.
"Sakura!" Naruto called to her and she felt the familiar sensation of his chakra entering her body. Knowing the genjustsu was now broke she opened her eyes again and glared at the chest of her opponent not daring to look him in the eyes.
She hissed in frustration and went after him again focusing her chakra to help her move faster and strike harder. Finally her fist connected just below his diaphragm and she heard the gasp as the air was forced from his lungs and he went flying backwards slamming into a tree trunk.
"Ha! Nice one Sakura!" Naruto called out as he and Sai came hurling towards the earth. They hit with a hard thud with Sai on bottom and Naruto leapt backwards away from them to Sakura's side standing back to back with her.
"You're doing pretty good yourself." She responded as their arms touched a sense of security flowing through her even as her muscles throbbed.
"Alright! The match is over! Sakura and Naruto win!" Kakashi called out stepping between them just as their opponents were about to stand.
"Come on Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto whined. "We can totally keep going!"
"I know that better than anyone." The Hokage agreed. "However, if you keep going much longer, there won't be enough trees left for everyone else to use."
Sakura blinked and glanced around at the training grounds. They'd really made a mess of the place. Several trees had been sliced and broken down. There were even a few that were still burning while others were devoid of all of their leaves. Dark black stains of ink also littered the ground and the four shinobi all wore expressions of surprise.
"Oops. Sorry Kakashi Sensei." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.
The silver haired shinobi shook his head. "Don't be. This is what the grounds were created for. Anyway, I should get back to work. Naruto, get something to eat and meet me back in the office in an hour. Sakura, get them patched up."
She nodded tugging off her gloves and walked up to Sai who seemed to be the worse off of the three and went to work healing the cuts and bruises her hands moving with practiced precision over his pale skin. Her hands moved over the flat planes of his stomach and he winced as she went to work healing a somewhat deep gash on his stomach.
"You know, if you wore a shirt that actually covered your torso you wouldn't have this problem." She scolded him.
He chuckled. "Ah, but then you wouldn't get to enjoy the view." He replied.
She rolled her eyes at the comment as she poured her chakra into the wound sealing it shut. "Save that crap for when you're sweet talking Ino. I don't want to hear it." She replied as she moved her hands down over his legs fixing the nicks and bruises there.
"You're good to go." She replied standing up.
"Very well then. Thanks Sakura." He said flashing her his signature smile.
"You're smarter than I thought. If you'd called me Ugly I probably would've undone all the work I just did." She replied moving to Naruto.
"Which is exactly why I kept my thoughts to myself." He replied.
"What was that?!" she snarled.
"Nothing!" he replied quickly dashing off to stand by Kiba who was watching her with warmth in his eyes.
"Wow! That was so cool!" Tamaki exclaimed as he watched the rose haired ninja work on his new hero. "That blue ball of wind and light was amazing! Can you teach it too me!?" he exclaimed jogging up to the blonde as Sakura went to work healing the cuts and bruises on his body.
Naruto chuckled. "Maybe. We'll have to wait and see." He replied as Sakura moved her hands over him. "Thanks Sakura." He said as she finished.
"No problem." She replied with a smile before she moved on to her last patient.
She forced the butterflies dancing in her stomach down as she moved her hands over his face healing a cut that slashed down across his cheek before moving down to his chest. A quick smile of satisfaction briefly crossed her face before she masked it again as she noted the bruise in the exact shape of her fist just below his sternum.
"Admiring your handiwork?" he said softly looking at her with his coal black eyes.
She blushed and quickly poured her chakra into the spot removing the bruising. "What can I say? It's the first clean hit I've ever really landed on you." She admitted. Her hands quickly brushed over the rest of his body and she nodded in satisfaction when she was done.
"You done?" Naruto asked as she stood up and offered Sasuke her hand.
"Yes." She replied with a smile. "My work is a lot easier when there's a referee."
Naruto snickered and nodded. "True enough. Now let's go eat lunch. Let's go get-"
"Grilled meat!" Kiba interrupted.
"That sounds great!" Sakura said smiling brilliantly at the dog trainer.
Sai and the genin voiced their approval and the blonde's face fell for only a second before he smiled again. "Alright then! What are we waiting for?" he announced leading the way out of the training grounds.
She leaned close to Kiba cupping her hand to hide her lips. "Thank you for saving me from having ramen again. I swear the only thing Hinata has to compete with for Naruto's affection is that stuff."
Kiba laughed out loud and grinned at her. "Oh man do I have stories for you." He said. "Hinata raided his pantry the other day. I heard it was pretty brutal."
Sakura laughed as she walked beside him. "I can only imagine." She stopped when she noticed that a person was missing and glanced behind. She quickly spotted Saskue hanging back leaning against a tree and frowned. "I'll catch up in a minute Kiba." She said before she turned and jogged back to the Uchiha.
"Sasuke? What's wrong?" she asked as she drew closer to him.
He looked at her his eyes guarded and she sighed. He was clearly in one of those moods where getting any information out of him was going to be about as easy as chasing that damn cat from their genin days. Deciding she was up for the challenge she squared her shoulders and moved forward until she was about an arm's length away from him.
"It's nothing." He replied simply. "Let's go catch up with the others." He said pushing away from the tree.
"Liar." She muttered. "You can tell me you know. I'll always listen to what you have to say."
"What do you think of Kiba?" he asked.
She cocked an eyebrow at the question. "Kiba?" she repeated. "That's kind of a weird question to ask." She thought for a moment. "I guess we get along pretty well. I don't feel anything in particular for him. He's a good friend is all. Why?"
"No reason." He replied his expression softening a little.
A little of the tension Sakura had been holding herself released as she noticed the change. As they walked, a thought occurred to her. Sasuke had never really concerned himself with her relationships concerning anyone but Naruto in the past. Recently however, he seemed overly interested in her ties to other men. Her eyes widened as a light bulb went off in her head. She glanced at her onyx eyed companion who stared straight ahead scanning the upcoming road carefully a habit she noticed he'd always had. She watched as his eyes narrowed at a small group of young men standing near the entrance to the training grounds whispering amongst themselves as the pair drew near.
"There she is!" one of them with black hair exclaimed.
In a matter of moments the group of three quickly gathered around her. "Sakura! I watched the fight! You were so awesome!" one of them exclaimed.
"Seriously! How can someone be so beautiful, smart, and strong? It just isn't fair!" another whined tossing his blonde hair.
She blushed and held her hands up nervous about all of the attention. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I do need to get going though."
"Can't you stay a little while?" The blonde protested. "Teach me some of that medical ninjutsu you were using?"
The brunette of the group smirked at her moving closer. "I'll be a willing victim if you want." He purred.
Sakura sense a dark presence growing beside her and the three men stopped in their tracks their eyes widening with fear. "That can be easily arranged." The Uchiha replied his eyes shifting from black to red. "Which one of you should I rough up first?"
"Uh… on second thought, we'll just go study it at the library… which is that way…." The one closest to the pink haired ninja said shifting away from her.
Sakura felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and she was pulled quickly and roughly away. "Why on earth do you put up with that?" he demanded as they walked.
"I don't want to be rude." She replied quickly struggling a little to keep up with his stride.
"Well start. It's so annoying when they buzz around you like that. It makes me want to swat them like the flies they are." He snarled.
Sakura's cheeks colored as she stared up at her dark haired companion. It wasn't her imagination right? His grip on her shoulder as another young man in the village openly stared at her and his eyes flashed to red forcing the young man to look away. It most definitely wasn't her imagination. Sasuke Uchiha was jealous. Her heart began to beat at double time as the realization hit her. If he was jealous that meant he had feelings for her, right? "Slow down! Don't get ahead of yourself!" inner Sakura warned her. Even so she could help but let her hopes rise a little. Maybe all of the years of unrequited love would be over, just maybe.