Yeah, this chapter got pretty long.
The next one might be long too.
Anyway, I hope you like it...
Enjoy!
Chapter Ten:
Maybe It's Still There
"Do you want to run away together? I would say it was your best line...ever. Too bad I fell for it."
"And you're completely sure about this? There's no way to change your mind? I mean-"
"Shizune, I'm completely sure. There's nothing to worry about-"
"But Lady Tsunade!"
"Shizune!"
Tsunade slammed her fists on the table and stood up, shaking the chair a bit. Shizune, who was standing right in front of her desk with Tonton in her arms, jumped a bit, a wary look on her face. Tsunade sighed wearily, still keeping her angry glare on Shizune.
After a moment, Shizune's look of shock changed to a glare of her own, meeting Tsunade's angry eyes.
"Fine. The necessary preparations are all met. But please, Lady Tsunade...at least take me with you." She said calm, yet icily. Tsunade shook her head fiercely.
"No, Shizune."
"But why?!" Shizune's voice became more pleading, causing Tsunade's brow to furrow tighter.
"Because in my absence, you're to keep everything intact and manage things for me-"
"Liar!"
That's not what you made me promise you yesterday, Lady Tsunade! You asked me to build it back up!
Tonton squealed quietly and squirmed a bit in Shizune's tight grasp. Shizune leaned over the desk a bit placing one hand on the desk, the other holding Tonton a little too snug. Her expression was one of anger and desperation, while Tsunade's was one of disgust and appall. But that quickly changed.
"What did you just say?" Tsunade snapped loudly. Shizune, feeling a little ashamed and furious, dropped Tonton, who quickly ran over to the door at the back of the room. Even the poor little pig could feel the nasty tension growing.
"I said you're a liar! You want me here in case something happens to you...so that I can pick up the village if their Hokage can't! You want to leave the heavy decision on me! And I can't do that alone!" Shizune bellowed, and as she did, Tsunade drew her lips into a tight line, and it was clear she was gritting her teeth hard behind her lips. By her expression, you could tell Shizune had caught her red handed. But that didn't change the fact that Tsunade was ready to drop kick her down to the bottom floor.
"Hey, hey. What's all the yelling about?" Kakashi's voice sounded as he, Gai, Yamato, Kurenai and Anko suddenly appeared in the room. They were standing in a straight line across the room, looking at Shizune and Tsunade. Shizune looked back at Kakashi, and then back to Tsunade. Tsunade's glare was now saying 'shut up or else', so Shizune whimpered a bit, but swallowed her tongue. She could never win a fight with Tsunade.
"We could hear you all the way on the 1st floor." Kurenai replied coolly while Anko nodded beside her.
Tsunade sighed heavily once again and sat down in the chair behind her. Shizune shook her head, displeased by her failure to break through to the Hokage, and walked solemnly to the window behind her. She leaned on her side on the wall, staring out the window. Actually, you couldn't tell, but she was trying not to cry, though her eyes were slowly tearing up.
"Anyway, you called us, Lady Tsunade?" Gai broke into the tension with his cool, youthful voice.
"Yes, I, uh, wanted to inform you of something. Kakashi, you already know." Tsunade's eyes met Kakashi's and he nodded slowly. "Anyway, I'm explaining this to you now, because you're the ones closest to Konoha's youth...and in the next few weeks to come, we'll need them stepping up. Also, you've all worked with Naruto and Sakura on one or more occasions, so I'm going to give you a heads up now." Her words grew serious and grave, making Kurenai feel fidgety.
Gai shot Kakashi a puzzled look and then gazed back at Tsunade, who was tracing circles on a paper with her pencil. Her eyes were now calm as she looked up and met Yamato's eyes.
"I"m going to be leaving on a mission of my own, and in the time being, I want you all to be on your best behavior. Shizune will be here to keep things in check in my place, and Kakashi, you're to help her if she should need it."
Kakashi nodded, his stare moving to Shizune.
Unless he was mistaken, he seen her wipe off the cheek closest to the wall.
"Gai, I want you to assist Iruka with training and fitness with the children at the Academy. Your squad has been off on missions lately and that won't change so it's the perfect thing to keep you busy." Tsunade continued, her gaze moving to Gai. He saluted her sharply and nodded.
"Anko, with the chunin exams at ease, I want you to start taking on S ranked missions. Your skill is going to waste at a time like this."
"Oh yeah! You got it!" Anko exclaimed excitedly. Tsunade looked to Yamato.
"Yamato, continue to work on ANBU missions, but please, take Sai with you. With the Uchiha's return, teams will be splayed out and I don't plan on sending Naruto or Sakura on any missions for a while so you will keep him under your supervision. I've already talked things through with Danzou." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, eyes moving to Kurenai now.
"I'm sure you know how this will go. You'll be working with Kakashi, and you'll keep training your squad. I won't be sending them on any missions just yet. I feel that Hinata's byakugan and Kiba's great sense of smell will be needed if we should get any serious clues to where the Akatsuki are and need to track them down immediately. So for the time being, you're on stand by and will be helping Kakashi help Shizune."
Kurenai bit her lip and nodded. What was the Hokage going to be doing at a time like this?
"Understood?" Tsunade bellowed, causing all of them to nod sharply. "Then all but Kurenai and Kakashi are dismissed!"
And in an instant, all but those two and Shizune disappeared from the room. Tsunade leaned forward in her chair and Kakashi and Kurenai walked up a bit to her desk.
Kurenai glanced at a distressed Shizune, and back to the hokage. "Lady Tsunade, if you don't mind my asking-"
"I don't. But you don't need to ask, because I'm going to tell you." Tsunade interrupted her, startling Kurenai. Tsunade's face turned stoic. "I'm leaving on my own mission to a small village in the Water country. Rumor is Pein and Tobi, also known as Madara, were spotted close to the area not too long ago. I feel I can find one of them there and pay them back."
Kurenai's eyes shot open wide. Sure, she was referring to Jiraiya, wasn't she?
A small, dispirited smile formed from her lips and Tsunade's voice grew fragile. "It's completely different when the loss gets too close to you," She looked up at the ceiling, her eyes forlorn. "I understand exactly how Sasuke feels now. I should have never been so hard on him."
Kurenai's mouth flew open. "But Lady Tsuna-" Immediately, she felt Kakashi's right hand clamp her mouth shut while his left arm was placed firmly on her stomach to hold her in her position. he was right behind her, leaving no space between them. The proximity made her feel edgy and uncomfortable, while her eyes started to burn. Tsunade met Kurenai's gaze.
"I understand. It must still be hard. You miss Asuma, yes...but I leave on this mission with no regrets. And I will have none either. I told Jiraiya I would come after him...and it's better late than never." Tsunade's voice was kept-together, calming Kurenai down a bit. Kakashi slowly lowered his hand from her mouth and rested it on her shoulder while his other hand never moved from her stomach. Shizune looked over to Kurenai, feeling a sting her in chest. At least she wasn't the only one desperate to stop Lady Tsunade.
"Just please...be careful. Don't make me regret letting you go." Kurenai spoke fearfully, causing Tsunade to snicker a bit.
"I'm not worried about you stopping me anyway. In about two months, you'll be in bed rest, giving birth and taking away Shikamaru from my services, including yourself." Tsunade gave Kurenai a smile, but it only made her feel worse. In a time like this, why did she need to be pregnant? Why did Asuma have to go...?
"She'll be just fine, Lady Tsunade. I'll watch over her, Shizune, and the village in your leave. Please, do your best." Kakashi's voice was reassuring, but he felt a distasteful glare from Shizune hit him. But what could he do? If Shizune couldn't stop her, how could he? He removed his hands from Kurenai and stepped to her side, so they were lined up.
"Another thing..." Tsunade swirled her chair around to face Shizune, giving her a serious look. "Do not-" She pointed her finger angrily at Shizune, who gave her a look of confusion, and then twirled her chair back around, doing the same thing to Kakashi and Kurenai. "I repeated, do not tell Naruto, Sakura...or any of their friends I am leaving tomorrow. They will find out in due time, and in the case they do, you leave out all details. Got it?" She spoke threatening, inducing the three of them to nod softly. Tsunade knew that if they found out...they'd try to stop her. And that wasn't what she wanted.
"If you're not going with Shizune though...then who are you going with?" Kurenai asked calmly. Tsunade sighed and reached for a bottle inside her drawer. She pulled it out and shut the drawer harshly. Then she held the bottle of sake to her lips and smiled.
"Somebody who has improved in these last few months to an extent in which I am curious." Was all she said, leaving Kakashi and Kurenai with puzzled looks on their faces.
Shizune, on the other hand, cringed a bit. She looked out the window up into the sky, a look of distress on her face. This isn't good. This can't end well. She cursed the Hokage inwardly...
...because she was made to promise Tsunade that she would build things up...not keep them together.
Because they both knew it was all going to fall apart.
"That's the stupidest trick I've ever seen." Sakura insulted bluntly. Naruto groaned and turned to face her completely. "Learn something new." She spoke again.
"Awww, Sakura...you're so mean! You're just upset you didn't get it." Naruto whined annoyingly.
Naruto and Sakura were sitting at a picnic table with Sasuke by the old park. Sasuke was sitting opposite of Naruto and Sakura, trying to ignore them. But it wasn't working.
"There was nothing to get. It was sort of lame, Naruto."
"I worked really hard on that! The pervy sage taught me like...four months ago!"
"Yeah, and obviously you haven't practiced."
"Have to!"
"Then you clearly need to practice more."
"Whatever! You know what, Sakura! You're just jealous!!"
"Ha! I don't get jealous..."
"Not true."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and put his elbows on the table, leaning into his right one and covering his mouth. He looked off to his right, trying to take his mind off the two arguing in front of him. He then heard a squeal from Naruto and a thud on the table as he accidentally hit is elbow on the side. Sakura sighed and shook her head...and the whole scene only annoyed Sasuke more.
"You don't know anything, Naruto."
"I know things..." He rubbed his elbow as it started to bleed slowly.
"Like how to be annoying."
"Ah! Sakura you're soooo-"
"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted sternly into his hand, muffling his words a bit. But you could clearly understand it, and both Naruto and Sakura shot him shocked looks. Sakura then let out a small 'hmph' and turned her head sharply in the other direction like a small child throwing a fit. Naruto groaned a bit at Sakura's reaction and then took a look at his elbow. "Honestly, aren't Naruto and I suppose to be fighting?" Sasuke mumbled again.
But Sakura just closed her eyes and pouted a bit, irritating Sasuke to no end. You're clearly the most stubborn person I have ever met, Sakura.
"How old are we?" He spoke into his mouth quietly and sarcastically, yet somehow, Sakura heard. She shot him a dirty glare and he just continued to look away.
"You know, Sasuke...if you didn't want to listen to this, you didn't have to come!" Sakura snapped angrily, making Sasuke shake his head ever so slightly.
"You guys made me come. I said no, but you didn't listen." Sasuke retorted, his words still unclear. And that was the truth...he didn't want to come...but he gave in instead of arguing. It seemed there was enough of that going on that he didn't need to join in.
Sakura grunted. "I can't understand you. Stop talking into your mouth."
Sasuke gritted his teeth together. Damn, she was annoying.
He turned his head and leaned forward on the table in her direction, never removing his elbow from the table surface, or his mouth from his hand. His eyes pierced hers, inducing her to lean forward on her elbow and glare at him as well.
"Can you understand now?" His words were harsh and he enunciated a bit through his fingers so she could hear. She bared her teeth at him...and they were only millimeters away from each other.
"Of course I can understand a bit better now, since you're closer...but you could atleast move your hand so it's clearer. Geez!"
Naruto watched the two, and very quietly seemed to be chanting "stop flirting, please stop flirting, stop flirting, please stop flirting" to himself, clearly bored by the two. Besides, weren't they supposed to not like each other? Gosh, even an idiot like him found it so incredibly obvious.
"You couldn't handle me taking my hand down. You can't keep your composure being this close to me without some feeling of a wall between us. I know you." Sasuke's words now sounded smug, and against Sakura's control, she started blushing slightly. That's soooo not true! Maybe it was just his hoarse voice...or that stupid cocky attitude...
"Not true, you smug bastard!" She insulted angrily. Sasuke was ready to drop his hand and retort, but instead, he, just like Naruto, realized things were getting a little too personal. He sighed softly into his hand and pulled back off to his right again, resuming the position he was in earlier. Sakura gave him a blank stare, but didn't feel victorious. She whipped her head to her right again like a child and tried not to look at him, but she was curious as to why he pulled back. So they resumed to their earlier positions.
Naruto stopped chanting after things grew quiet and sighed, staring at Sakura's back and rubbing his slightly bloody elbow. Sakura, giving into temptation, opened her eyes half way and looked back at Sasuke, never turning her head. She seen his eyes were wider than before, staring at something past Naruto.
What's he looking at?
Sakura slowly turned her body toward Naruto and looked back behind them in the direction of Sasuke's gaze to see Kalei walking toward them slowly. Right away, a sour taste filled her mouth and she turned her back toward Kalei, crossing her arms in front of her on the picnic table and closing her eyes. Her expression was clearly a distasteful one, and it didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke, who like Sakura, turned his attention off to the side to avoid looking at Kalei. Naruto, confused, looked behind them as well to see Kalei. Instantly, a smile crossed his face and he waved.
Kalei, face emotionless, just nodded her head backwards, indicating for Naruto to walk over toward her. Obediently, he got up and started to walk over to her, never saying a word to Sasuke or Sakura.
Sakura twisted her eyebrows, feeling Naruto get up and leave. What a dog...
"Hey, you! What's up?" Naruto said with a little more enthusiasm than before. They were a good distance away from the other two, so they would be unable to hear as well. He held his elbow in his hand, giving Kalei a bright smile.
"I just came to tell you I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow, bright and early. So you won't get to see me off." Kalei responded in her usual dull tone. Naruto's face shifted to a frown.
"A mission? Well okay...when will you be back?" Naruto asked sadly, inducing Kalei to shrug. "Mmmm...well I'll be busy with Sasuke for a while anyway so..." Naruto's voice slowly died out as he seen Kalei wrinkle her nose in dismay and steal a glance at Sasuke.
"Yeah, well I shouldn't be gone too long. So, no worries." She replied calmly. Her eyes slowly moved to Naruto's elbow and she seen a tiny smudge of blood on his hand. "You hurt?" A hint of concern crept into her voice, and Naruto chuckled a bit. He removed his hand and shook his arm a bit.
"No big deal. Just stings." His voice was strong, trying to look all big and bad. The corner of Kalei's lips raised a bit and she took hold of his arm, turning it a bit so she could see his elbow.
"Here." She placed three fingers over the wound and chalkra slowly started to emit from them, cleaning up the wound in second. Naruto just watched curiously and laughed a bit.
"Hey, medic-nin. Nice. I almost forgot you could do that." She had healed him a lot after training because Sakura was always working at the hospital or doing something else at the time. It was quite convenient for him but he was always curious as to how she learned such good medic ninjutsu...because actually, she was very skilled...and she knew Kalei couldn't have really trained much with Tsunade considering the state the village was in.
"No big. Catch you later." She flashed him a quick smile while he examined his elbow. She slowly turned around and tried to start walking away when Naruto gently grabbed her upper arm, causing her to stop and look back at him with a slightly startled look on her face.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura weren't talking at all, making Sasuke feel slightly irritated. How come things always felt so awkward around her?
"It's one thing to talk too much, and it's another to not talk at all. Can't you balance the two?" He said sharply, lowering his hand to the table but never moving his gaze from his right.
Sakura's eye twitched angrily and she kept her gaze to the opposite of Sasuke's. "Shut up. I'm listening." She replied just as roughly. It was hard enough to hear their conversation...actually, she couldn't hear a thing. But she was trying.
Sasuke gave out a sarcastic laugh. "Five dollars says you can't even hear."
"Ten dollars says your wrong, and I'm trying to ignore you." Fuck off, Sasuke!
"Fifteen says their conversation isn't even important." Now he wasn't necessarily aiming his cruel words at Sakura, but at the two slightly to the left of his gaze. Why did he feel so...irritated by them talking all quiet? God, this was just a bad day.
Sakura chuckled menacingly. "Twenty says you're dying to hear."
Sasuke ground his teeth together, ignoring that comment.
"What, no goodbye hug or anything?" Naruto's face turned a slight shade of red while he spoke sweetly and Kalei's eyes widened. Immediately, she bit her lip and looked down to the ground, pulling her arm out of Naruto's grasp.
"Naruto...look, you know kind of...where we stand, right?" Was all she managed, her voice firm, yet emotionless.
Naruto blinked thrice and then looked around him as if examining the area. "Uh yeah, the outskirts of the park?" He responded clueless, making Kalei lose her nervousness. She shot him a look of complete embarrassment, eyes narrowed, nose wrinkled...an insulting look all together.
"Are you stupid?" She asked calmly. He chuckled softly and she sighed heavily. "I mean us. You, me...it's just...you know we're...just friends, right?"
Naruto stopped laughing and gave her a puzzled look. She just nodded, telling him her decision was final. "Y-yeah...I figured. You've been really different lately so...I mean, it was obvious." His voice had lost it's enthusiasm, but in all honesty...it was true. He didn't feel all that let down. She eased her way into this pretty good.
But he couldn't help himself. So he continued...
"Besides, Sasuke's back and-"
Kalei immediately scoffed at his remark. Now she was pissed. "You think this has something to do with Sasuke? It doesn't." She replied quickly. But Naruto matched her just as fast.
"Oh, come on, Kalei. You and I both know you still have feelings for him."
It took her a while to let the words come to her lips, but they found their way. "Just...shut up, okay? You know I hate this subject. You know I hate him."
And Naruto just held up his hands as if to say, 'sorry', and turned around to walk back to the other two.
Despite being a little upset...she had something she needed to do quickly, and luckily, chance was on her side.
Sasuke seen Naruto walking back to the table slowly from the corner of his eye and oddly, he heard a weird high pitched sound...like a bell resounding in the air. Slowly, he turned to glance at Kalei and Naruto, and in the moment Naruto had turned, eyes to the ground...Sakura was looking off into space with disgust, and Kalei had caught his eye...in the quickest movement, a shuriken dropped from her black sleeve into her hand. It had a small white piece of paper attached to it, and as she began to turn away, she flung it out to her right in between a gift shop and information booth off to the right of her and Sasuke. It was almost unnoticeable, but Sasuke seen it.
And just locking eyes with her like that made him need to get up and find that shuriken right away. What was on that note?
At that point, she was already walking away, and he narrowed his eyes and watched, forgetting the sound he had heard earlier
Clearly, that note on there was for him, and she had thrown it in between the two buildings a little down the pathway. A perfect place to go grab it unnoticed.
Because clearly something bad had happened between Naruto and Kalei...because Naruto sat heavily onto the bench by Sakura, a scowl on his face and a heavy sigh leaving his mouth.
Sakura glanced at him then to Sasuke, who gave Naruto a snoopy look. So what? He was curious...
Sakura smirked at Sasuke, seeing this as well. Whatever...she'd play the smart ass and give him a witty remark.
"Twenty-five says you want to run after her right now." She sneered, awaiting his clever reply. But just like that...his clever reply had taken her down...and pissed her off to an unbelievable extent.
"I owe you twenty-five." And he got up, didn't even glance at Sakura, and walked past the both of them. Sakura's mouth fell open and she thought her heart had dropped into her stomach, while Naruto didn't much care. It was nothing new to him. He scratched his head and sighed, clearly dreading how things were about to turn out.
He slowly walked over to the small opening in between the buildings. At the end was a tall, white fence...with a shuriken lodged in the middle. He slowly walked over to it and yanked it out of the fence. He removed the note, unfolded it and read it...with it leaving him curious as ever.
Tower 6
Midnight, sharp.
Expect company.
And that was it.
"I'm just a messenger with that note. But actually, the reason I threw it in here, was so I could talk to you."
He turned around, eyebrows raised, to see Kalei standing a few feet away from him. The shadows cast from the tall buildings on either side of them made their meeting feel suspicious. Why did he feel like something bad was going to happen here?
"Desperate to see me?" He replied smugly, his face remaining emotionless...but his voice, smooth. Kalei scoffed at that remark and rolled her eyes. She was good at that.
"I'm only telling you that I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow and will be gone a few days. In the case where you should go on a mission, you'll be with a different squad...under a different captain. I wanted to tell you that." Her eyes pierced his and she could feel his dissatisfaction with her words.
"Oh yeah? And who's this captain?"
"Taru Shoukei."
Sasuke's eyes shot open wide and his heart jumped...because it wasn't Kalei who said that. All of a sudden, he felt the presence of somebody behind him, standing on top of the fence. He never looked back, but he knew it was Taru...with his cheery, annoying voice. Sasuke groaned and tightened his jaw. Damn it...
Instantly, his presence disappeared from behind Sasuke, and Taru appeared right next to Kalei, a giant grin on his face, making Sasuke sick to his stomach.
"Taru's so generously agreed to serve as your captain in my absence. I picked him because you tend to have a lot of problems with other people. You and him don't know each other...so there should be nothing personal." Kalei said matter-a-factly. Taru and Sasuke met eyes and instantly, the tension started boiling. But while Sasuke glared at him...Taru continued to smirk.
It was funny though...why did Sasuke hate this guy so much already? Did he actually have reason to?
Kalei let out a soft sigh and turned to walk out of the little alleyway, heading to her right. "Behave." She called out.
It felt like hours as she turned the corner, leaving Sasuke with Taru. When she was out of view, Taru scratched the back of his head and took a step toward Sasuke. His expression was now calm, not smug. And his defense was down. He got a few feet from Sasuke and held out his hand a bit, signaling for a truce.
"This won't be bad. There's nothing personal." Taru said, giving him a small, sincere smile. And Sasuke gave Taru a smirk of his own.
"She was wrong, there is something personal-" And as he spoke those words, his fist collided with the side of Taru's face, sending him back and to the ground. His face was planted into the dirt and as he slowly maneuvered his elbow up to wipe the side of his face, he met Sasuke's eyes...and Sasuke's very satisfied smirk.
Stupid idiot...don't let your guard down.
"That's for saying Sakura was a little too good for me." His voice was rough...conceited...and made Taru narrow his eyes angrily. He knew saying something like that to Sasuke Uchiha was a bad idea. Bad, bad idea.
But no, that wasn't enough for Sasuke. Why did he feel so...possessive all of a sudden? Either way...he needed to let Taru know who had claim over the Hokage's apprentice. Not that he wanted her...but still. "Sakura's not interested in any guy that can't block a punch. Her standards are set much too high for you. So move on." And just like that...he contradicted himself completely. It was when he spoke those words he felt a mixture of satisfaction...and complete confusion. What the hell was he saying? What did he really want?
Taru let out a small, cocky chuckle...and lunged himself up at Sasuke. An eye for an eye.
Sakura had walked over in the direction of where Kalei was headed, at first hoping to see her to ask her about the whole promotion thing. But once she got up there, she realized it wasn't much of her business, so she was walking back down on the small path by the buildings. Her eyes were glued to the dirt in front of her as she dragged her feet behind her. Things felt so unglued right now...and she wasn't sure how much more of it she could take. She just wanted things to go back to how they were...or get better...or something. She finally tore her eyes the dirt and looked up, feeling a weird numbing sensation take over her body as she seen Kalei walking right in front of her. They were only a few feet from the alley Kalei had left Taru and Sasuke alone in.
Kalei's face instantly turned into a nasty glare, brow wrinkling, eyes flaring a bit...and actually Sakura was a bit impressed, and quite amused. It was more emotion than she had seen Kalei with in a long time. But honestly...she wanted to avoid conflict. Not start it...so she felt her stomach go queasy with nervousness.
"Congratulations. Really, you deserve it." Sakura's voice wasn't exactly cheerful or sincere, but it wasn't harsh or cold. It was just a bit void...empty.
But that didn't matter much.
Kalei let out a small, satisfied 'hmph', a snotty smirk appearing on her lips. "It's one thing to work with the impossible...and another to tame it. You just have to know the difference."
Kalei's words brought back memories to Sakura...of the night she found out how Kalei felt about Sasuke.
"I won't give up, either, Sakura."
Sakura's whole body started shaking.
"I work best in those kinds of situations. ANBU works with the impossible."
Sakura bit her lip.
"You're clearly not there yet."
Kalei's words had just as much bite now as they did back then, leaving Sakura angry and flustered.
Kalei, on the other hand, returned to her normal pissed off expression, and started to walk. In a few steps she walked right past Sakura, and made a clear point of hitting her shoulder...hard. Sakura stumbled back a bit, and closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip. She wanted so much to just kick Kalei right now...just to show her how much she disliked her...
And normally, she could control her temper...but now just wasn't one of those times. Kalei took another step, and Sakura turned her body to face her, reaching her arm out. She was about to grab a big handful of her hair and pull her back to deck her in the face, but as her fingers reached within a centimeter of her hair, her body froze...feeling awkward and on edge...like somebody was watching. And she realized she almost made a big mistake, and cursed herself inwardly for being so foolish. She would never stoop down to Kalei's level.
At least...she hoped she wouldn't. So Kalei continued walking and Sakura turned around, a sigh of relief leaving her, she ran her hand through her hair, feeling stressed. She noticed Naruto walking up toward her on the same path...and was instantly pleased with herself for not attacking Kalei. If Naruto would have seen that, it would have been bad.
They were about to meet at the break in between buildings. The alleyway...
Sakura was a foot away from the crevice when all of a sudden Sasuke and Taru flew out from the alley way. She jumped a bit, gasping.
Wow, who expected that?
Both of them landed on the ground, Sasuke pinned underneath Taru, who had a firm grip on the collar of his shirt, trying to shove him into the dirt. Both boys froze and looked up at Sakura. Taru's mouth opened as if to spit out some excuse, while Sasuke only gave her the glare he was giving Taru seconds ago. Naruto was on the other side of the alleyway, staring at the two absent mindedly...eyebrows raised. Even he thought this scene looked pathetic.
And Sakura ran her right hand in her hair, leaving it on the side of her head with strands falling astray from her grasp. She didn't really understand why these two were fighting...because it wasn't like they knew each other, did they? And on top of that...what the hell were they doing alone in that alleyway anyway?
Screw it, she didn't want to know.
Sasuke's expression relaxed as he noticed Sakura's face. She was staring right at him with the most piteous look he had ever seen. Wow...even he felt a pang of shame at that one.
And to make it worse...she payed him back for the smart remark he gave her at the picnic table.
"Taru, if you lie down with dogs...you're going to get fleas."
Naruto's hand flew to his mouth as it fell open and he looked away, shaking his head. Sasuke just deepened his glare to an extreme as Sakura let out a deep breath and turned to her right to walk away.
Taru immediately scrambled to his feet and walked quickly to catch up with Sakura, not saying a word. Sasuke sat up and brushed off his pants, cursing inaudibly to himself. Naruto walked over to his side and held out his hand. He chuckled.
"Ouch?"
Sasuke glared up at him, giving him the hint that this was not funny. At all.
Why?
Because Sakura was really being a bitch.
But still, as Naruto helped Sasuke up and patted him on the shoulder, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why her remarks were bothering him so much.
There was only one other period of time where her words affected him this much...
And he wasn't about to return to that.
It was midnight. Sharp.
And Sasuke was at the 6th tower. Just like the note said.
And nobody was here...
The fuck. It was hard enough sneaking around guards to avoid suspicion...
He reached the towers just in front of a widespread range of trees and looked up to see a ninja guard lying limply over the edge of a railing on top.
Okay...so somebody was here.
And what the-?! If anybody caught him out here...he'd he the one blamed for the damn bodies. God, the thought of him coming out here seemed more stupid every minute.
"Don't worry, they're not dead."
Sasuke's gaze shot to the tree's in front of him, and on one branch of a tree straight ahead of him, he seen a familiar figure, twirling a kunai around his finger. Sasuke's tensed body relaxed as he realized who it was.
"Suigetsu."
Suigetsu chuckled as Sasuke took a few more steps toward him. The small light at the tower reflected over Sasuke, but the tall tree's casted light shadows over Suigetsu.
"Hey pal...how ya feeling?" He vocalized carelessly. He stopped twirling the kunai and Sasuke noticed a white piece of paper attached to it.
What the hell's with all these notes?
Instantly, he thought back on Kalei and the note she gave him. How did she ever get her hands on that? How did...she know to give it to him? When did Suigetsu give it to her?
"How did you find Kalei?" He asked Suigetsu sharply, inducing a confused look on Suigetsu's face. He tapped the kunai gently on his cheek.
"Kalei...Kalei...oh! That short, black haired ANBU chick. Actually, she found us." He said, pointing the kunai at Sasuke. He grinned at him widely and continued. "Me and Karin were just sitting around the area, trying to find a way to approach you, Juugo's out in the South by our camp...yeah...and last night, she found us. She only asked why we were here...which was crazy because...I thought she'd arrest us or something. And when we said we were here for you...she agreed to give you that little note thing!" He started snickering to himself and positioned his arm that was holding the kunai in a throwing position. "Anyway, here! There's a tag attached to this with some information you might like. Catch!" And he pulled his arm back and thrust it forward...
But being the idiot he was, he noticed his hand was empty. The kunai was gone. And Sasuke was giving him a pathetic look from the ground as a voice resounded through the air.
"Information, huh?"
Suigetsu glanced over his shoulder, and back a ways, up a few branches...was Sakura, holding the sharp end of the kunai up in the air so she could examine the tag in the moonlight. She was fast alright...and had managed to swipe the kunai from him effortlessly. But before she could actually get anything out of it, another kunai whizzed up into the air, catching the ring on the end and pulling it out of Sakura's grasp, up high into the air, where a small explosive tag went off...destroying both kunai. Suigetsu chuckled. "Wow, you're fast, girl."
Sakura grunted and pointed her finger at Suigetsu, a deathly look on her face.
"Why'd you do that?! I thought we were friends!" She shouted sarcastically.
Sasuke just watched the scene above him amusingly. But still...he was curious about Kalei. And Sakura...did she follow him out here?
Suigetsu frowned and put his hands on his hips. "Sasuke doesn't let me have friends." His expression turned pouty and he faced Sakura completely.
Sasuke, hearing that ridiculous comment, rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.
Sakura narrowed her eyes at Suigetsu, when all of a sudden, Karin appeared beside her and slapped Sakura hard on the back. Sakura lost her balance, leaned forward and started flailing her arms into the air until she fell off the branch, somersaulted in the air, and landed on a branch a little lower than Suigetsu's. She glared back up at Karin.
"I wouldn't call you our friend." Karin sneered, placing her hands on her hips as well.
Suigetsu let out a deep breathe and waved his hand at Karin. "The same goes for you, four eyes."
Karin instantly glared daggers at him, and he beamed at her mischievously.
Sasuke listened to them, slightly entertained, until a sharp pain shot through his head, and down his spine. He winced and bit his lip hard, tasting a shot of blood.
Gotta make this quick...
As Karin and Suigetsu started arguing over Sakura, Sasuke quickly shouted at them, "Shut up!"
Both of them stopped mid-sentence, and turned to face him. Sakura only gave him a questioning look. Strange how he could go from calm to psycho in seconds.
"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked lancinatingly. Now his eyes were burning...and more than likely, this was only going to get worse.
Suigetsu groaned. "To see if you were okay, and give you that information that Momoiro up there so cleverly stole!" He motioned up at Sakura who blinked a couple times at his comment. Sasuke gave him a dirty scowl, making Suigetsu's lips draw into a tight line.
"Look here, dumb ass...I'm fine, and as soon as I decide to leave...you better get the hell out of here because you're the reason I'm in this place. That doesn't make me happy." Sasuke snarled, making Sakura flinch. For some reason...that comment hurt.
"But for now...consider yourself lucky I'm staying. Now tell me the information that was on that note?"
Karin started twirling her fingers around in her hair. "Uh...we'd love to tell you ,Sasuke...but with that little explosion water boy caused, we're bound to have some people out here quickly. You can't get caught. It's best if we get out of here now."
Sakura jumped onto the branch Suigetsu was on, and he looked at her as if he had forgotten she was here in the first place. "Yo, Momoiro." He waved a hand at her as she turned to face him. Momoiro? Is this a nickname or something?
"Come back in two days for the Ikiru festival. You can tell Sasuke what you need to then." She said.
Sasuke's brow furrowed. "Ikiru festival?" What's this?
Sakura rolled her eyes and looked back at Sasuke. "Ikiru...to live...it's a festival held every two years that honors shinobi that have achieved the ranks of jonin or higher or that have died in battle. I'm sure Lady Tsunade will inform you of it tomorrow." She looked back at Suigetsu. "Come back then...because you're right. It's a possibility somebody spotted that little explosion."
Suigetsu grunted, but nodded in agreement. "Okay. Then, meet here again in two days at midnight!" He shouted over to Sasuke, who nodded, giving him a 'hn' in reply. Sakura then jumped off the branch to the ground by Sasuke, and Karin jumped down by Suigetsu.
Suigetsu grinned mischievously at Sasuke, causing his eyes to widen.
"If I had to pick between the two, I'd definitely pick Momoiro!" Suigetsu shouted, pointing at Sakura. She blushed slightly and looked away while Sasuke just stared at Suigetsu, giving him a look that clearly stated Suigetsu was an idiot.
Momoiro...that means pink.What the hell was wrong with her name? "Sakura, you are now Momoiro!" Suigetsu chuckled out once more, making Sakura shake her head and start walking away. "Sweet! See you later then!" He called again, and he and Karin disappeared.
Once Sakura had walked up to Sasuke, she sighed and he gave her a suspicious look. She returned his look with a blank one of her own.
Silence.
"Did you follow me out here?" He hissed angrily. Sakura sighed.
"I wouldn't call it following. Something felt suspicious so I came out here and found you. It was an accident." She flipped her hair back and Sasuke rolled his eyes, unsatisfied with her answer. He started walking past her, making her slightly annoyed.
"You know, if I had to pick between the two, I'd pick Kalei." He shouted back to Sakura irritably, referring to Suigetsu's comment moments ago. He just wanted to piss her off. It was more entertaining this way.
Sakura felt her skin crawl at his remark. Clearly, he was paying her back for her comment earlier...trying to be an ass.
She ran to catch up to him and once she fell into step with him she said, "I'm sure you would." Her voice was testy, and she kept her menacing glare ahead of her, while Sasuke looked off to his left, examining the area around them as they walked back to the village.
Silence.
More silence.
After what felt like five minutes of awkward tension, Sasuke sighed and chortled to himself. "Just kidding. I wouldn't pick either." He kept his gaze off to the left and Sakura let out a deep, aggravated sigh.
Whatever! Do you have to be such a jerk all the freaking time?!
"You know what, Sasuke. It doesn't matter...Kalei's amazing anyway, right?" She took a step right in front of him, facining him and making him stop walking and look at her with a shocked expression on his face. Her words were fiery and loud and he wasn't expecting an outburst like that randomly. He just looked at her for a moment and then looked up into the sky. The stars were clear and visible, illuminating the dark blue void. Sakura groaned and looked up for a moment too. She felt a weird numbness creep over her and closed her eyes before she could see a shooting star.
No point in wishing.
"Why do you do that?"
She opened her eyes and looked back at Sasuke, who was giving her a little smirk.
"Do what?" She hissed, still touchy with him.
He nodded his head up to the sky. "Close your eyes."
Her eyes widened a bit, surprised he noticed that. But she snapped back quickly and let out a 'che', glaring at him once more. "Don't change the subject. She's perfect, isn't she?" She snarled once more.
After a moment, Sasuke shrugged, smirk leaving his face. Now it was just emotionless.
For some reason, memories of the night he seen Sakura a year ago for the first time came back to him. He started to feel a warm sensation in his chest, and the pain waves flowing through his head were slowly easing. It was strange...why was the pain going away?
"Jealous, aren't you?" He asked sincerely, making her bare her teeth at him. The temper was rising.
"I am not jealous. Just...forget it. If you think I still care about you...or her...or you and her...together, you're completely wrong!" She barked indignantly, waving her hand across her body. She turned on her heel and started to storm off when she heard a sarcastic laugh from behind her.
"Yeah right. You are one sad liar."
She turned around and just blinked, half unable to believe he just said that. Was he honestly doubting her words? "What?" She hissed, quietly.
Sasuke nodded. "You heard me. You suck at lying. You're a liar."
She bit her lip and ran her hand down her face. "I'm a liar? You're a liar. And you're stupid. And I'm serious. I don't care about you in that way. I haven't for a long time. You could have stayed gone. I never asked you to come back." Now even she knew that it was all just angry, unimportant rambling. She was just upset with him, and all at once, it felt like this was the time she could just randomly yell.
Now Sasuke's sarcastic laughter grew to an audible octave. He tilted his head back and nodded, not believing a word leaving her mouth. "You never asked me to, but I bet you wished it." He nodded his head up to the sky, indicating the idea of making a wish on a wishing star.
Sakura's brow creased in disbelief. Obviously, they were hitting each others touchy subjects. "I don't wish at 11:11. I don't throw pennies into wishing wells. And I most definitely don't wish on shooting stars."
Sasuke controlled his soft laughter and crackled his knuckles. "Of course not. You don't have to anymore. I'm here already."
Now she laughed herself at his stupid remark. Conceited much? "No, Sasuke. It's still like you're not here."
He nodded, wrinkling his nose a bit. "I guess. So then, you're still missing me?" Wow, he had a knack for being a sarcastic bastard. He took a step forward.
That's it!! That's enough!!
"Ahhh!" Sakura just shouted randomly into the chilling night air, clenching her fists at her side. He was getting her all flustered on purpose and she couldn't even realize it. She closed her eyes tightly, tilted her head down a bit, and ground her teeth together.
"I'm not missing you at all-"
Her shout died down at 'all' as she gasped and felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her, one positioned under her butt, making her feel like she was sitting on his arm, and the other on her lower back, picking her up in the air. He was tilted a bit back, so she leaned into him, and there was only a small amount of space in between their faces. Her feet were dangling now, her hands were resting on his shoulders, elbows slightly bent...and she was staring down at his shadowy face, straight into his eyes. She felt a blush sweep across her cheeks, and Sasuke noticed too, making his eyes widen a bit. They could feel each other's breath fanning across their faces. Sakura was set in shock, her sense's failing her.
He wasn't sure what enticed him to pick her up, but the feeling of having her in his arms felt familiar...and he liked it. Which was strange and disturbing because he was trying so hard to push the past away...
At this proximity she knew she could throw away all she worked for by saying a few stupid words, so she tried to protect herself by saying, "...No matter what I might say...I'm not missing you at all..." Her words were soft and quiet...like a whisper. But she was getting off to a good start.
The sound of crickets was now audible in the area, and Sasuke could feel Sakura breathing against his chest.
"Not at all?" He whispered back.
Sakura swallowed hard and nodded her head softly, blush increasing as she started to feel Sasuke's firm grip on her back. His fingers on his right hand gently brushed the skin on her upper leg, giving her goosebumps.
"I...I don't think about you ever..." She whispered again, her voice high. Sasuke's chest started to feel warm again as her hair fell in front of her face and tickled his skin a bit. He could smell the cherry scent on her.
"I don't think about you either." He whispered once again, making her mouth go dry. Nervousness. Her pulse started racing. This was the closest she had been with him in a long time...where she actually really didn't want to move. The warmth from his body wrapped around her, and she could smell his scent all over.
She let out a heavy breathe, her lips parting slightly, trying to say something, but nothing came out. Sasuke noticed this, and loosened his grip just a bit so her body lowered on his, and her face came closer. She closed her eyes and spoke again. "I...don't...like being around you..." The whisper was so faint you could barely hear it. She opened her eyes once again and met his. They were so mysterious and entrancing...she missed them so much...
The eyes that held eternity.
"I don't like being around you either." He whispered back, a very small smirk forming from his lips. And as if it couldn't get any worse, Sakura's blush increased and her grip on his shoulders tightened.
But suddenly, his grip loosened and he set her down on the ground. She instantly pulled her arms back to her side and let out a deep breathe, looking up at him with wide eyes.
This didn't just happen. Sasuke didn't just...
"Sasu...ke-"
"Just forget about it. It didn't happen." He replied in his monotone voice, shoving his hands into the pockets of his baggy white shorts. He closed his eyes and walked past Sakura, his shoulder gently brushing hers. She regained a bit of her sanity and turned around slowly as he said, "It didn't mean anything."
His voice was soft...unlike any tone she had heard him use these past couple of days.
Her voice was hesitant and shaky. "It didn't?"
Silence.
Actually...it was only now that he had come to realize it...
And then it all slipped into a feeling of slow motion as he kept walking, looked over his shoulder and smiled at her...making her knee's go weak.
"Of course it did."
For the first time in quite a long time...her breathe lodged in her throat, and she wanted to run up and embrace him. But her feet felt pinned to the ground and she just stared at him as he looked forward again and kept walking.
"Say...'I love you.'"
Sakura's eyes started burning as all his words starting coming back to her...
"So what...will you try and forget me...?"
"Right now...with you...I'm calm. Almost...happy..."
"Promise me...that you'll wait for me. And if you will, after I find Itachi...I'll come back to Konoha. Back to you."
Everything...everything seems so fragile when you take a step back and really look at it. She wanted to go back to that...back to the way things were a year ago. Did she really take it all for granted?
"That's why I...push you away...and...sometimes get close."
"I don't want you to wait for me forever. Show me forever exists. Just love me forever."
"Sakura...I'm right here. Right now. Holding you. Isn't this what you've always wanted?"
"I told you I'd be coming back...didn't I?"
"If my promise keeps tormenting you like this...then yes."
She slowly raised her hands up and covered her face as she felt tears run down her cheeks. How did she really feel? She loved him...right? No...she was suppose to despise him...but she didn't. Did...he still love her? Or...or...what?
It was all too much. She quickly wiped away the tears, took a deep breathe...and started to walk back to the village. Thing would all make sense in due time...but still...she couldn't stop the memories from flooding back. How could everything change like this? When did she stop believing?
"Sakura, I'm asking you because I want to come back. If I leave without permission, I'll be rendered a missing-nin again...and she won't be so forgiving the next time. We both know that."
No...she never stopped believing. She never stopped loving him.
It was never over.
"I love you...Sakura."
Next Chapter
When Darkness Turns To Light