Chapter 5: Haru

"Chihiro," Sakura whispered, blinking in complete surprise. Suddenly, someone appeared behind her and when she turned in astonishment, a tan coat obscured her vision. The clang of metal hitting each other echoed as she was pushed back from danger. Stumbling, she whirled around only to meet a shrouded figure with a blood dripping kunai.

Whipping her own out she blocked the attack and stepped back, making sure to dodge all of them. Seeing a pause she ducked under his jab and shoved her elbow into his stomach then finishing it with a punch. The ninja bounced on the ground but then scrabbled back to his feet to only turn around and flee. The ninja's who were standing in front of her teammates started to bark out orders, carrying out the order to chase down that man. Sakura turned to see Anko with a scratch on her face. She ran over to her and smiled in thanks, nodding.

"Sakura-chan!" Knowing that voice, she met eyes with a furious Naruto. Sasuke and Kakashi followed behind, just not as angry.

"Where'd he go? Did he hurt you? I'll clobber him when I get my-" Sakura put a hand on his shoulder grinning.

"It's fine Naruto! The others over there will get him." She nodded over to the running line of shinobi headed after the shrouded figure.

"You changed," Kakashi said bluntly, looking at the sudden change of color. Sakura laughed and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Some things just happen." She thought that he was gonna say something else but someone came up behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me," A silver haired ninja, probably in her late teens, wearing a shinobi uniform greeted. She had dark blue eyes and a single red dangly ball earring on her left ear. Chihiro Lee. Naruto instantly turned a light shade of red and nodded back.

"Are you Konoha ninjas?" She asked, meeting everyone's eyes. Kakashi stepped forward for them and spoke instead.

"Yes, we have been sent by the Hokage to heal a certain ninja here." He explained, wondering who it could be all the same.

"It is my brother. We need your help urgently and-"She suddenly stopped talking as her gaze wandered over to grinning Sakura. She blinked for a few seconds and then rushed forward. Sasuke put an arm out to stop her but stopped halfway, realizing.

"Sakura!" Chihiro cried out as she crushed her in a hug. Sakura held her tight with a bright smile on her face, her eyes also smiling.

"It's been so long!" She replied as they release each other to laugh. At that moment the other froze and exchanged glances. All at once they leaned forward with stricken looks on their faces.

"HUH?"

Haru

"Haru told me a lot about her once he got back from his mission in Konoha. He said that they became great friends and on another mission, he brought me along! There, I met Sakura! By the way, my name's Chihiro!" She greeted, bowing her head to the others. Sakura sat across from her on the table and took a sip of tea, trying her best to hide the light blue marks on her arms with the long sleeves.

Chihiro looked at her friends meeting their eyes one by one. She met Naruto's first, waiting.

"OH! Hi, my name's Naruto Uzumaki!" He cheerfully said, pointing a thumb at himself. She turned her head to meet the cold eyes of Sasuke's.

"Sasuke Uchiha," He quietly greeted, looking away from her eyes, being bored as usual. Chihiro rolled her eyes and moved on to the next: the silver haired Jounin.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, nice to meet you Chihiro," He spoke kindly, smiling behind his mask. She chuckled and nodded back, turning her head to meet Anko's smiling face.

"I'm Anko Mitarashi it's a pleasure to meet you," Greeting formally, she nodded her head. Sakura then realized Chihiro's brother. Getting up, she grabbed her hand quickly.

"Your brother," Sakura whispered, afraid it'll be too late. Chihiro widened her eyes, the worry for her brother rushing back.

"C'mon," She hurried, quickly walking through the door. Turning she smiled sadly, "Please, wait here for a while and I'll be back with Sakura soon," Then with that, they shut the door and were off to where her brother was.

"What're we going to do in a room with nothing to do?" Naruto complained flopping on to his back. Sasuke stared stoically out the window, his eyes scanning for any danger. Kakashi sat against the wall reading his book while Anko fiddled with her fingers next to him. He noticed this and glanced at his fingers then to her face.

"Something wrong?" He asked, concerned. The others noticed and walked over to join the conversation. Anko gritted her teeth and looked down at her fingers.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure how long the seal I placed on Sakura will hold. I'm assuming about a week however, as it wears off, the darkness within that curse mark will take over and start to mix in with her chakra more. It was the only seal that would work and block the mark from hurting her temporarily as I thought of trying to find a way to seal it permanently." She explained, frustrated.

"Well I'm sure we can send a message to the Hokage for some help," Naruto suggested, giving some light into the dark.

"No, it'll take her about a week and a half to get the cure down for Shizune has stacked her desk piled with papers." Kakashi countered, giving a negative aura around them.

"Then what do we do?" Sasuke asked, his hand balancing against his knee. Anko ran a hand through her hair sighing and closed her eyes.

"Perhaps, Sakura will find a way to make a cure of her own between healing."

"How can you be so sure that she can though?" Kakashi asked, surprised. Anko laughed and lowered her head in seriousness.

"Because she's the Hokage's apprentice, she's basically become her other replica matching in strength and healing ability."

Haru

"He's in here," Chihiro spoke quietly, sliding the door open to the small hospital room. Sakura stepped in first, hearing the faint breathing of her friend. Chihiro came up close to the bed and held her brother's hand in worry. Sakura placed a hand on her shoulder and reassured her that she would be able to heal him.

"Thank you," She whispered, giving her a hug. Sakura sat down beside her and looked at her silver haired friend, bandaged on the chest and around his head, arms and legs as well.

"W-what happened to him?" She asked, surprised by his amount of injuries. Chihiro sighed and shook her head, closing her eyes.

"I-I really don't know. He went on a mission that required eliminating a rogue ninja that killed some of our shinobi, but when he got back, he was all banged up, practically bleeding to death. We immediately got him into surgery for the deep, fatal wounds, but the others just didn't disappear." Sakura narrowed her eyes at the news and looked back at her sleeping friend.

"That's strange; let me see what I can do. Why don't you go back to the others? I'll let you know if something comes up." She said standing up to gather supplies.

"That would be nice," She sighed, making her way to the door. Sakura gave her a smile as she left and turned to her patient who was panting heavily. He was Chihiro's twin and looked exactly alike, only a scar coming from his neck down making the difference.

"Haru," Sakura whispered, taking hold of his hand. It was burning up gradually. Nodding, she put her hands over his abdomen and took a look at his injuries, the green glow on her hands appearing.

"Okay, some tissue damage, broken bones, punctured organs...it doesn't look too bad." She stepped back and suddenly tripped against a loose cord, falling back. Hitting the cart, the glass vials and bottles crashed and her arm landed straight on top of them.

Hissing in pain, she held her bleeding arm and sat up to hear movement. Her head snapping up, she saw Haru sitting up with a shocked look on his face. He was propped up on his elbow with a strained look on his face.

"Haru, don't move okay? I'm fine, just stay put; you're still badly hurt." Sakura said as she stood up from the broken glass slowly hissing once more as bits of glass clung to the open wound. Her mind was still a bit jumbled from what just happened. She'll have to ask him what that was.

"H-how are you?" He whispered his voice weak. She smiled and looked over at him brightly.

"I'm been great. Though it seems like you've been in worse situations," She wiped the blood off with a towel and walked over to the sink to rinse it off. She winced as the cut was washed out and grabbed some bandages from a cabinet. Applying some medicine, she walked back over to him while wrapping her arm up.

"Yeah, Chihiro must be worried," He realized, his eyes widening.

"She is, but she's strong, she knows pull it through," Sakura guaranteed, pulling back the cart to its original place. She heard him laugh softly and blinked, grabbing a dustpan and a broom, sweeping the tiny bits of glass up. Dumping it in the trashcan, she gathered a new set of supplies and set them on the cart.

"Tell me, what happened on that mission?" She asked, sitting down next to him. He lied back down and cringed as a wave of pain hit him. Panting, he coughed and met Sakura's eyes.

"It's all hazy but I'll try to give you the best information I can." She nodded and waited as he cleared his throat, staring straight into the ceiling to recall what had happened.

"I was assigned to take out one of the rogue shinobi that was around our area, being confident and determined as usual, I sought him out, sure that I could defeat him however I…I underestimated him, that man," He narrowed his eyes in anger and clenched his fist tightly. "Mastered all elements,"

"What?" Sakura asked, surprised. No one is able to do that. It's impossible! Haru nodded and continued, taking a deep breath.

"He's stronger than I could've ever imagined. He actually managed to perfect all jutsu's involving each element….but he was my best friend…" Sakura blinked in astonishment as she stared at him, disbelieving.

Haru

"Hey! Takashi! Wait up!" Haru called as he ran to him, waving his hand in the air. Stopping in front of him, he panted, leaning over for air.

"Hey Haru," His black haired best friend replied quietly. Haru looked up and grinned, chuckling with his hands on his hips.

"Are you going on a mission?" He asked, glancing at his pack. He fixed his own and adjusted his headband, his silver hair swaying in the breeze.

"Yup, are you?" Takashi asked, tilting his head to the side. His gray eyes reflected Haru's face as he stared into them.

"Same! I think I got assigned with you at the last minute, is that okay with you?" Takashi smiled and nodded starting to walk out of the secret passage way. Haru chased after him and kept at his pace, grinning as they chatted about their day.

….

"Haru! Quick, get the scroll and let's get out of here!" Takashi yelled as he fought off the enemies, clashing against their weapons with his own.

"Right!" Haru replied, moving at blinding speed, only a shadow. Of course, they were already Chunins at the age of nine. It was young, but the village needed more people and the two of them got accepted at the same time.

Appearing in front of the lake, he peered in and saw the scroll they were looking for at the bottom in a glass box, tightly sealed and locked. Taking a deep breath, he dived in and swam towards the bottom, ignoring the increasing pressure. About to touch the box with his fingers, a shadow passed over him and he turned, immediately hitting against a blade of a sword. A hand grabbed at his throat but he pushed it off with his wrist, striking him upside the face. Kicking him in the chest, he whirled around and picked up the box, about to swim up when suddenly, an electric shock hit him, jolting him to let go of the box.

He floated back, dazed when hands grabbed him by the arms, pulling them behind his back. Yelling, bubbles came out of his mouth as he struggled to escape. A foot found itself at the base of his back, pressing hard. Haru widened his eyes and scrunched his nose in anger. Flipping around in the water, he hit the ninja in the chin and darted off towards the box. Slashing the lock apart, he picked it up once more, relieved that there weren't any more shocks and swam towards the surface, unable to hold his breath any longer. Gasping, he jumped into the air and landed on the ground, just as Takashi came up beside him, dripping wet with water.

"C'mon," He simply said, jumping off into the trees. Haru hadn't known it yet, but something had changed in him.

…

Their 6th year of being Jounins

"What're you doing?" Haru yelled from the edge of the village gates. His friend was already on the other side, his pack already set. Takashi half turned and glared at him through his pale eyes. The moon shined down upon him as shadows covered his friend.

"Don't follow me." He warned, turning his head away from him. Haru furrowed his eyebrows and stepped forth, only to have a kunai plunge into the ground right in front of his foot, stopping him.

"Why are you doing this?" He whispered, clenching his fists in anger. He snapped his head to see Takashi standing still, his entire frame shaking.

"I'm doing this for the sake of the village." He replied with gritted teeth. His hair blocked his eyes from any emotion as he fully turned to face him.

"Whatever it is, you know we can do it together." Haru suggested, a hopeful smile on his face. Takashi kept a stoic look on his face as he thrust his hand out to him.

"If you took this hand right now, you'd be turning your back on the village," He let his hand slowly come back to his side, clenching his fist. "But I need you to stay here to make sure everyone is safe Haru,"

"No! Takashi, you're my best friend and I won't lose you." His best friend smirked and put a hand to his face, his eyes wide.

"I'm sorry Haru, but what I'm doing, for our village, will only destroy you. I'm the only one who can do it." Haru bit his lip and ran past the gates, his head down. Takashi widened his eyes in surprise as he stopped in front of him, his eyes determined.

"Then I'll go with you. I won't bother you in any way. Just don't make me lose my one and only best friend." He pleaded softly, looking down at the ground. Takashi's eyes softened as he gazed down at his long time friend, putting a hand on his silver locked head. Haru widened his eyes at this when suddenly the weight lifted from his head.

Gasping, he looked up to see that he was gone. Only the footprints to where he was standing before. Haru clenched his jaw and stood rigid, his eyebrows forming that v.

"If I see you again in the future, I'll be different, and I'll have to kill you because of what I'm doing. However, these years that I've been friends with you…I won't forget that. I'm sorry… Good-bye….Haru,"

He widened his eyes as Takashi's voice faded away into the breeze. Looking down at his shaking hands, whirlwind of leaves came at him and in his opened hand was Takashi's bracelet. One he always wore no matter what. Suddenly, his breath came out in gasps and he fell on his knees. Staring down at the black beaded bracelet with stains of blood on it, a tear fell into his palm as well, mixing in with the crusted blood on the beads.

"Takashi…" He whispered, closing his eyes shut, his eyebrows furrowed together. The memories they had together flashed through his mind all at once; when they were both laughing, eating ramen, going out on missions, talking with friends, everything in his life. And all at once…they vanished. Then, taking a deep breath, he looked up to the mournful moon and screamed his lungs out.

"TAKASHI!"

Haru

"So are you trying to find him?" Sakura asked, a bit saddened at his story. Haru sighed and put a hand to his face, a frown forming.

"I want to; I want him to remember the memories we had. That we had a friendship, but that's over. He already attacked me and that proves that he must've forgotten." He said solemnly, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't lose that faith Haru," He turned to her, surprised. She had her head down, her hands clenched. "Naruto and I had faith that Sasuke would come back to us. And he did, all because of Naruto, maybe he could be the one who could help you find him, just like Sasuke."

"How long was he gone?" Haru asked, curious.

"He left for three years to train with Orochimaru, he was branded with a curse mark that wanted him to become stronger than he already was. Naruto and I waited for so long, training, striving, living to see him and be with him as a team again. Finally, after so long….Naruto brought him back. After all these years, he had kept that promise to bring him back." Sakura met his eyes and grinned, taking his hand.

"You see…Naruto has this sort of affect on people. Normally, they would think he's a stupid, hyper-active knucklehead- which he is, but he's much more than that. He can get even the coldest people to change and warm up to him. Just because of whom he is."

Thank you for reading this! I really had some inspirational music with the sad part in this using some BRS OSTS! They are amazing! Though it made me bawl, I loved it! Tons of action as well! Hoped you enjoyed the chapter! I'll update ASAP! Oh yes, and please leave a review!

-FallenWing21