Summary: When Sasuke finds out Sakura can't bear him a heir he betrays her. What he wasn't aware of was the tangled web of deceit and lies that hurt not only Sakura, but himself as well.
Standard Disclaimer applies.
Most likely, your bound to find a typo or two. I don't need a reminder that I'm not perfect, thank you. But I hope that doesn't sway your judgement of the story. This chapter is more of a filler to unanswered questions as well as a door into a more twisted plot. Dare I say kind of boring. Enjoy.
Chapter 2: Intricacy
Waking up in her bedroom was such an unusual feeling compared to the numerous mornings where she had woken up in the wild. Eyes gazed at the plain canopy of her bed, and she wished that it was the seamless blue sky that she was so use to seeing. Nothing was anything like she was use to seeing it seemed.
"I'm marrying her, Sakura"
Those words rang through her head like a broken record. So he did forget, or rather pushed aside whatever he had felt for her. Sakura knew deep down that she shouldn't have expected much from the boy who had left her behind, but over the past months that they had been together she had knew something inside him had changed. He had changed. He had began to feel for her the way she had felt for him. But, as soon as a child came into question, Sakura had felt that the leap she taken with Sasuke had been in vain, as she was placed back at the beginning once more.
Her childhood bedroom reminded her of the silly things she thought she wanted when she grew up. To the canopy bed, that made her feel like a princess who was waiting for prince charming, to the vanity table that reminded Sakura how hard she tried to be beautiful, and to the closet full of clothes, that she thought would impress others. Shaking her head of the silly notions, Sakura shoved the covers away and made her way into town. Not once looking back into the fantasy that was once her childhood.
Why? Why, was the one thing Sakura couldn't just leave behind. What was his reasoning as to all these things that just kept on piling on top of them. Sasuke must have had his reasons as to take it as far as fidelity, but nothing added up. He was never suppose to know about those tests. Being the head medic and all, Sakura knew all about doctor-patient confidentiality, so why were her results exposed? She administered the test to herself, so she was the only one who could see the documents. It just made no sense, but Sakura knew that one person could help her figure this out.
As Sakura entered the Hokage's office, she felt a mixture of nervousness and fear. She hadn't seen nor talked to her shishou in months, and Sakura didn't know how Tsunade would react to her.
Calmly approaching the desk, she noted, as always, Tsunade was out cold behind her desk. Her mentors head resting on a pile of papers as drool lightly gathered at the corners of her mouth.
Sakura nudged Tsunade lightly. "Shishou."
Greeted with incoherent murmuring Sakura shook her shoulder a little harder. "Shishou."
Fluttering one eye open, Tsunade muttered, "What did you want, Sakura?"
"Answers." The Hokage's eyes shot open as soon as the words left Sakura's lips.
"Shishou, I think there is someone leaking files from the hospital, and-"
"I know."
Sakura's eyebrows tensed in shock. "You know? How, why? What has happened since I was gone, shishou? What's happening?"
Sitting up straight, Tsunade stretched her arms above her head. "A spy, Sakura," she yawned. " My best guest is that it's someone who has no allegiance to Konoha, and won't be affected by another war."
Sakura caught on quickly, and look at her former mentor seriously. "They've been leaking more than just medical records, haven't they shishou?"
Tsunade nodded, and wished Sakura knew how much information was actually out there about Konoha.
"At first, I assumed that it must have been the Root who were leaking information, with Danzo dead and all, but then Sai reminded me of the seal that is kept on their tongues, so it would make it nearly impossible for them to speak up." Tsunade inquired.
"If not Root, then who?"
"Then who, exactly. No one knows, or are either too scared to speak up." Tsunade shook her head, what has the village come to, she thought.
Revelations crossed Sakura's mind, as if things that once made her head spin were suddenly clear with a new clarity. She knew she could no longer be stuck on the mess that was her life, but rather live for what she wanted: to help others. To accomplish this, she had to give into reason and grow to be someone that would be able to complete these goals. Although she has grown into a strong, valuable addition to the village, staying in one spot helps no one. She wanted to be out in the field living a dangerous, wild, and spontaneous life. She wanted each day to be new, each day spent to have helped an unfamiliar face. That's where she truly needed to be.
Konoha didn't need another medic who wallowed the hospital, they needed a field medic to be out there and reach out to others, and Sakura was just the person to do this. She had nothing to tie her down anymore. She had no relationship, no marriage, and no Sasuke. Her parents would understand her choice and eventually support her decisions, at least they would understand.
The more Sakura thought on this, her heart was healing the deep cracks that were embedded into it, but little fissures were still forming. Swallowing slowly, she looked out the window of her shishou's window and saw Konoha, her home. She was doing this for Konoha, for Naruto, for Ino, for all her friends that suffered through the war. Anything, Sakura reminded herself, anything for them.
"Shishou, I have a proposition." The gleam of determination evident in Sakura eyes.
Tsunade stared at her student, this Sakura was much different than the one that walked in moments ago. It was as if she had hit a realization, was fixated on ensuring that it would be accomplished. The Sakura that walked in was set on discovering the answer to her own problem, but this Sakura wanted to help fix other's problems.
She was proud of her student, she finally discovered what it means to be a true medic.
"Go on."
"It might seem a little out crazy, shishou, but please just listen," when her teacher didn't respond, Sakura continued, "I want to be placed on a team."
"Sakura, your already apart of team 7, I can't just change you." Tsunade said, eyebrows contorted in confusion.
"Not just any team, but an ANBU team."
"Sak-"
"Don't 'Sakura' me, shishou, I've lived too long pining after useless things. I think it's time I finally grew up from that teenage Sakura who thought she could save the world. I know now, that you can't save everyone, so why should I spend my time saving people who just don't want to be saved."
"Sakura, I respect your decision, and you know that as your mentor I need to advise you to do what's best in my aspect," She looked Sakura directly in the eyes before stating, "I need to know what's brought on this sudden need to be out there. This urgency that I have only seen you exhibit once before, and if it's about that dam forsaken Uchiha again, God help me."
Sakura saw concern her teacher's amber eyes. She needed assurance, and assurance is what she was going to get.
"I would be lying if I said that Sasuke had no part in this," determination rolled off of Sakura in waves, "but, I'm not doing this for him. I'm not doing this to impress him, or prove I'm worthy enough to be his, I think I spent too much timing attempting to have him notice me."
Sakura let out a laugh, before she continued, "I'm doing this for my village, to prove to them that I'm able to protect them and shelter them as a real medic would. I realized my life is better spent proving myself to people that matter, rather than those who could care less."
Tsunade reached over across her desk, and pulled Sakura into tight hug. "I'm proud of you Sakura, more than you could ever know."
As Sakura prepared her pack, she caught a glimpse of the worn photo frame that held the iconic picture of Team 7. It wasn't like she leaving them behind, but rather doing this for them. If that was true, why did Sakura get the sick feeling like she was running away from her problems? She wanted this because she could help discover who was leaking the information, she didn't want this just because she wanted to be away from here, right?
The beeping of her alarm brought her out of her mindless wondering. She had to meet up at the Hokage's office to meet the team she was going to be dispatched with. She hoped that she would know a few of the ninja that she was going to be with all day for probably a year or so. Meeting with a new team was not what Sakura was nervous about. It was breaking the news to her friends and Team 7 that filled her with dread and drove her to a whole new level of anxiety.
What would they think of her? Would she regret this decision? No, No she wouldn't, if they couldn't understand her reasons, then she had no choice but to leave them in the dark.
Sakura felt relatively at ease when she discover Tsunade's office to be empty, save for the sleeping sannin and TonTon who was pleasantly oinking in her sleep. Sakura smiled at the image of Tsunade and TonTon, the resemblance was uncanny.
Instead of waking up her dear shishou, Sakura decided meeting her teammates could wait. It wasn't like they were on time anyways. They would call her when everything was ready.
It was late in the afternoon, nearly evening, when a messenger told Sakura to report to the Hokage's office. The messenger had said the meeting was urgent, and she should get there as soon as possible.
Sakura felt a little worried because normally meeting a new team wasn't this urgent, so must have meant something horrible had occured. Sakura didn't like the feeling that was creeping up on her either, she knew that something much more serious must have taken place in the last few hours.
Upon entering the office, Sakura took note that the entire Konoha 11, minus Naruto were there. Sasuke, she noted, was also absent.
"All of you must be wondering what your all doing here," Tsunade started. "and I must admit, I wish it was under different circumstances that you were all brought to me. However Konoha is in a state of security, and all ninja must be accounted for."
Panic swept the room, and each person looked to another nervously seeking answers, as well as to check to see who was missing.
"This state of security that we're in, has grown more serious in the last few months and has been harder to contain. At first I thought, as Hokage, I could solely figure out the breech using my most highly regarded ANBU, but I soon discovered that not everyone here in Konoha is too be trusted."
"What are you talking about Tsunade-sama?" inquired Neji, obviously confused by the news. "Being apart of the Hyuuga Clan, who leads the surveillance around Konoha, why is it that we know nothing of the outbreak?"
"That is exactly what confuses me, Neji." replied Tsunade, "If I hadn't made Shizune keep tabs on the scrolls and records inside Konoha, we might have never realized that Konoha's most valuable secrets are being exposed to other villages."
"So why are we all here?" drawled Shikamaru.
"I wanted to inform you first hand of the problem, but the worse news is yet to come.", Tsunade shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Being our best tracker, I sent out Hatake Kakashi late last night to follow up on a weird sighting near the outskirts of our village. The caller had stated that they saw a caravan of rouge ninjas with very old looking large scrolls, as well as boxes of documents that held Konoha's emblem. I told Kakashi to identify the ninja and then to report back to me."
Sakura felt a horrible sensation crawling up the base of her spine, like someone had taken out her lungs and she couldn't breathe.
"I'm afraid to report that Kakashi hasn't responded back to any messages I've sent him in the last 24 hors, and not even Pakkun can reach him. As much as I hate to admit it, I believe Kakashi has been captured."
No, was the first word that invaded Sakura's head, before her eyes blazed and became watery, and all you saw was her whispering "No, no, no, this can't happen…sensei."
Tsunade felt her heart pang as she saw her student fight the emotions that were clearly evident on her face. I'm so sorry Sakura, she thought.
Ino reached out to her best friend and held her as Tsunade continued.
"I've sent Naruto and Sasuke, along with a few ANBU and Root teams, to patrol the perimeter. They should be back at sun down. As of right now, I'm asking you, as the Hokage of this village, to keep your eyes peeled and don't let anyone get the best of you. I will be assembling a retrieval team tomorrow morning so keep your heads up for a messenger. Dismissed."
As they filed out of the office, all Sakura could think about was how much worse could the situation get.
Being at the bar reminded Sakura of the time Kakashi took her out for her birthday last year. Even though she was a little young to be drinking, her sensei still passed her own bottle of sake. He had told her ninjas age faster.
She still remember the way his eyes creased as he smiled at her when he slid the bottle in her direction, and the way he winked when he handed her, her own copy of the special edition of Icha Icha Tactics. She smiled bitterly, when she thought of how she had punched him through the wall for giving her such a thing in public, but then laughed when she remember how Kakashi got off the ground and pouted, "Mou, Sakura-chan. Your so mean to your old sensei."
She missed him so much, and she just wished that he'd walk through the bar's door with Genma, or even see her in the morning at the training ground with his little orange book in tow.
But at the back of her mind she was reminded that she might never see him again, and desperately, Sakura tried to brush that out of her mind, but she couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness that took over and paralyzed her. First Sasuke, now sensei?
She glanced down at the shot glasses, and empty cups of sake, down to the half-empty bottle that resided next her like a best friend would. Everything in her life was a jumbled mess and as much as it killed her, she could blame no one. This wasn't anyone's fault, if she should blame anything she should blame fate. Fate for making her life hell, and taking away the things she cared for the most.
It was dark when Sakura drunkenly stepped outside. The wind tore through her like a whip and she grasped her arms together to keep them warm. How long had she been at the bar? What time was it? All she remembered was it was light out when she started her drunken spiral, and now she could barely see through the pitch black of the night.
The last time she had been this disorientated was when she didn't have anything to eat for a week during a mission. She wasn't use to having her senses being this muddy. Her vision was blurry and it looked like the street in front of her was rocking to and fro.
"That's her, that's the girl." Sakura barely made out the whisper, but her ninja training told her she wasn't alone, and these people were looking for her.
Panic invaded, and Sakura quickly stumbled down the street in vain attempt to reach her parent's house.
"This is our chance, let's get her."
That made Sakura run as fast her body would allow. She was sprinting blindly through the dark, unaware of her surroundings.
She knew she just had to get somewhere safe, where people were. Why, was there no one here for her, no one to save her?
She rounded a corner and collided with a warm body.
"Sakura, what are you doing?"
She stumbled back, and glanced into cold onyx. Sasuke.
"People…after me, I…I don't know…" she words came out scrambled and wrecked.
Sasuke took her in her ragged appearance and the dark circle that had already began to form. His eyes bled into scarlet.
"There's no one there Sakura." he said as he scanned the perimeter using the Sharingan.
"Are you drunk?" he added.
Sakura stood straight and caught her breath a few times, before loosing her footing. "Maybe just a little."
Sasuke grasped her shoulders to keep her from hitting the concrete.
"It's dangerous out here, didn't you go to the Hokage's meeting? Konoha isn't safe right now."
Sakura felt angry. She knew that she shouldn't be upset by what Sasuke had said, because it was true, Konoha wasn't safe. But why did he have to act like he cared?
She pushed his arms away from her, "Don't act like you care Sasuke. Because we both know you could care less about what happens to poor little Sakura."
Sasuke glared, "Is that what you really think?"
She glared back.
"It's not like you've given me any room to disagree. I bet you were just fishing for a reason to leave me. I knew that I couldn't give you a family, but I thought that maybe, just maybe my love was enough for you." Sakura felt her emotions make a whirlpool.
"It won't ever be enough, will it Sasuke?" She looked into the scarlet of his eyes, and saw a conflict of emotions. Maybe it was because she was drunk, but Sakura could of sworn she saw sadness or was it disappointment?
"Just forget it. Forget all of it. I'll leave you alone now, Sasuke, just make sure you return the favor."
Sasuke looked at her. The red of his eyes fading to black.
"You'll never get it Sakura. You'll never fully understand how things work in this world. Just get home, I don't want to have to report this to the Hokage."
He walked passed her, and she walked pass him, not once did they look back at one another.
It was 2 AM when she received the call to report to the Hokage. The stench of alcohol still reeked from her, and Sasuke's words were still imprinted in her mind. She would never understand why Sasuke did things, or what they meant. At times she wondered if she would ever understand the words behind his actions.
"Sakura, you look like a mess."
"Nice to see you to shishou." she replied sarcastically.
"Ugly, you look particularly ugly today." Sai smiled.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Sakura said obviously aggravated, while she rubbed her temples.
"You said you wanted to join an ANBU team, well meet one of your partners."
Sakura look from Sai to Tsunade. "You're joking right."
Tsunade looked at her sternly, "Kakashi is missing Sakura, this is no joke."
"Sorry shishou."
"It's fine, Sakura." Tsunade took a swig of sake then began, "I decided to exclude Naruto from this mission because it's too risky with him having the nine-tailed fox inside him and all the people who must have him #1 on their hit list."
"So it will be you, Sai, and-" The door to the office was pushed open.
"Sasuke." Sakura and Tsunade said simultaneously.
"Uchiha, meet your new team, Sai and Sakura. As a team you will need to retrieve Hatake, Kakashi. You leave at sunrise, dismissed."
"I decline." stated Sasuke.
Sakura looked at him incredulously.
"You can't decline a mission Uchiha." Tsunade glared.
"I have duties to my clan, that must keep me here." Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing, was he talking about Karin?
"Must I remind you whose life is at stake here?" Tsunade inquired.
"I'm aware of whom is missing, but my clan comes first. That should not come as a surprise." And then Sasuke left, leaving the three people in room to wonder how ridiculous he was acting.
Without thinking Sakura stormed out to reach Sasuke. Beyond furious.
She grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.
"Where do you think you're going?"
She has had enough of Sasuke, and his stupid choices. She would make him see what he was about to do was wrong. Abandoning them was not a path she would let him take willingly.
Kakashi-sensei was too important to be abandoned like this.
When he didn't speak she did.
"How could you just leave like that?" She began screaming. "I knew you had no feelings, but isn't this a bit much? Is it that simple to just let our sensei suffer and die like that?"
"You don't know what your saying Sakura."
She pushed him, and he staggered backwards.
He glared at her. "Just leave me alone, like you said you would."
"The hell I will. This is our sensei we're talking about!"
"Your sensei Sakura. Naruto's sensei. He was never a sensei of mine." he stated calmly.
"He will always be you sensei, no matter if you acknowledge it or not."
"Hn"
"And now you just going to leave him. Abandon him. All for a stupid girl-"
His eyes turned crimson and narrowed. "That girl is my fiancée, whether you like-"
"Just stop!"
Sakura felt her insides twist and turn unpleasantly.
"Just stop…You never did care did you Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei believed in you." Sakura turned even more furious.
"And all you can think about is Karin and your clan, it has to always be about you doesn't it?"
She shoved him yet again.
"Doesn't it?"
"A family, a clan isn't something you can give me. You can bear no child of mine." he said bitterly.
She felt a pang in her chest and paled, being reminded hurts doesn't it.
"We were never meant to be."
She remained still.
"Karin is offering me what you can never give me. I need her."
Sakura's eyes slid shut, and she whispered, "But you betrayed me. Betrayed me with her, cheated." She swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in her throat. "You slept with her when you knew I was waiting for you to come home to me, when you knew that I was dying inside because I knew that I couldn't give you what you wanted." She looked at the crimson that dominated his features. "And now your going to abandon the one family that stood by you for your own selfishness. I don't know you anymore Sasuke"
She didn't realize how close they were, or how the proximity between then almost held no barrier.
He stared into her eyes.
"Let it go, Sakura. It's over and done with. You know I never cared."
Somehow, Sakura thought that they weren't just talking about Kakashi-sensei anymore.
She pulled away from him, "I know it's over. Just don't let this cloud your vision on what's right."
His eyes downgraded to black once more, and he watched her back fading in the distance until she disappeared from his line of sight. He looked up into the endless sky, to the heavens, and couldn't shake off the feeling that he had disappointed much more than just Sakura that day.
Authors note: Thanks to those that reviewed. As a reminder review if you want me to continue. Thank-you.