She had intended to run between the two of them in the hopes that they might stop their attacks if they saw her. 'But I won't get there in time. There's also no guarantee that I won't get hit by their jutsus and die in the process,' she thought as she took out one of her marked kunais and threw it between the boys. She performed a substitution with her kunai, arriving a few seconds before their jutsus collided. She grabbed Sasuke's wrist with her left hand and Naruto's with her right. Using all the momentum and power she could muster, she swung the boys in opposite directions, away from each other. They didn't go far but it was enough not to collide with each other. All this happended in a span of 8 seconds.

Sasuke crashed onto the ground, his Chidori drilling a large hole the rooftop. Naruto crashed into a water tank and burrowed a hole. Sakura was panting from the adrenaline coursing in her. She was shocked that her plan had worked as she had clearly doubted whether she would arrive in time or could muster enough strength to overcome their momentum. She dropped onto her knees, tears of frustration burning behind her eyes. Kakashi arrived a moment afterwards. "I'm not going to ask who started the fight but I'm disappointed in the both of you," he started, his eyes hard. "Shut up," Sasuke said as he stood, his Sharingan glaring at the older ninja. "I don't need you to tell me what to do," he snarled. "As your teacher and a jounin of a higher calibre and status than you, show some respect," Kakashi replied monotonously. "I'm a better ninja that you could ever be," he scoffed. The Uchiha glanced at the hole he had made on the ground and to the one made by Naruto.

He allowed himself to smirk in victory, enjoying the joy that came with beating his rival as he made his way back to his room.

"Sorry about that Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to..." Naruto's words died in his mouth as he watched Sakura kneel unmoving on the ground, her hair covering her face. "I wish I had been here earlier. You didn't need to see that," their sensei said empathetic. They received silence in return. When Sakura raised her head, she was looking in the direction Sasuke went with an unreadable expression on her face.


Sasuke was walking with a dark purple scroll in his hand, carrying a backpack. He stared ahead and saw Sakura standing a few metres in front of him. He stopped two steps away from her. A cloud covered the full moon and a shadow covered them. "You knew," he stated. "I always had a hunch that you were going to leave us one day or another. My suspicions became worse today because when you let your rivalry with Naruto cloud your judgement," she said, her eyes hard. He moved to cross her but she stretched out her hand, stopping him. "Let me pass," he said gravely. "No," she said as she squared her shoulders. He brushed her hand aside and continued walking.

"These days you never cared whether Naruto was better than you. All you wanted was for us to be a team, a family. Out of the blue, you just start pushing us away," her voice rang out. Sasuke stopped walking. "For the past three months, you have changed from the revenge-obsessed genin I knew. You started being human for all I've ever known you since being on Team 7. But ever since getting the Curse Mark, you've been losing your sanity bit by bit. You get angry all of a sudden, you are so obsessed with getting better than Naruto, you push us all away like we're a plague," she spoke, never taking breaths in between. When Sasuke turned around, he was surprised to find tears streaming down her cheeks.

"But amidst all that, I see bits and pieces of the Sasuke-kun I fell in love with. There, I said it. I love you so much. I really do. And if you leave, I don't think I can live with that pain," she said, her hands fisted on her sides. "You don't have to train with Orochimaru. We can work together to help you reach your goal. If I'm too weak for you, then I'll train until I become stronger but please don't leave. Don't leave Konoha, don't leave Team 7...don't leave me," she rambled, her voice muffled by tears as she stared hard at the ground. When she raised her head to look at him, he had a mean smirk on his face. "You really are annoying," he said. She stared at him in shock. "Go back now. I don't have time for weaklings," he said as he turned and continued walking. "So you're really going to leave...just like that?" she whispered so quietly he almost didn't hear her. He continued walking.

The hairs on the back of his neck tingled and he moved his head briefly to the side, avoiding a kunai which had been aimed at him. There was a poof and she substituted with the kunai, aiming a roundhouse kick at him. He used his forearm to block it and pushed her away. She landed neatly on the ground a few meters from where he stood. She took out two kunai, one in each hand with a determined expression. "If you words won't convince you, then a fight will," she spoke. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Let's save this fight for later," he said with a smirk. When he opened his eyes, his Mangekyo Sharingan was activated. 'What-' was the only thought she had before darkness subdued her.


When she woke up, it was a few hours before sunrise. Sasuke had put her under a genjutsu and left the village. He left her on a bench. "Sasuke Uchiha, you idiot," she whispered as she held back her tears. After a few minutes of mentally consoling herself, she made her way to Tsunade's office. She knocked on the door. A curt 'come in' answered. Piercing brown eyes stared at her as she made her way to her desk. "Hokage-sama," she said as a way of greeting. "What do you want brat?" the blonde asked as her eyes narrowed. "I..." She ignored the nervous butterflies dancing in her stomach. 'I want to become stronger so that I can bring back Sasuke-kun. I want to become stronger so that I won't be a burden to my teammates. I want to become stronger so that my friends never leave me. I want to become the most badass kunoichi!'

"Please take me as your Apprentice!"


Shikamaru, as the only chunin in his class, stared at Naruto making a lifetime promise to bring back Sasuke for Sakura. Sakura was smiling, her face bright and determined as she agreed that they would do it together. He expected her to be a crying mess, wanting to go along with them on the Sasuke Retrieval Mission. But he was surprised to find not a single tear in sight and everything about her appearance in place. She had changed from the kunoichi with no particular talent to a kunoichi worth acknowledging. The two members of Team 7 bumbed their fists together, grinning like idiots.

He stared around to look at the others, each of them with different expressions. Lee had a lovesick puppy expression, clearly amazed that his crush wasn't crying over her teammate. Chouji was smiling like a proud father and Shino's face was unreadable as his hood covered a good portion of his face. Kiba was grinning just like Naruto and Neji had a somewhat amused expression on his face. 'Am I missing something?' he thought as he felt nothing at all except a sliver of anticipation.


Hope you enjoy this chapter. Read and review!

Tozoonana

AfricanFire.