Sakura's Realization

I've already finished up what will become the first several chapters, so they'll arrive on AFF very quickly, but after that, don't expect updates too often. I only write when I feel in the mood, and I haven't felt in the mood a lot lately.

Anyway, this is pretty much my first attempt at writing a fic, so please be gentle in the reviews! This takes place after the whole 3 Sannin fight, but assumes that it took a little bit longer for Tsunade to get to Konoha (she had to pay off some debts first.). So, Sasuke and Kakashi are still in comas from Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan techniques.

Later chapters will likely feature combinations of modern-day technology and shinobi lifestyles. If we look back at the Wave Country story arc, you'll notice cranes and other modern construction tools. So, I've come to the conclusion that shinobi have become part of the modern-day society in the world of Naruto. So don't get pissed off if Naruto starts playing Halo 2 online with Shikamaru.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't pwn Naruto.


"[dialogue]"
'[thoughts]'


Sakura lay in her bed in the dark, wishing she could just fall asleep, but she was too preoccupied. Sasuke lay in a bed in the hospital, in a coma that can’t be broken. Naruto promised that a miracle healer was on her way, but had a few things to take care of before she came here. 'Naruto,' she thought. 'He always seems to pull something off that takes care of everything in the end.' Shaking that thought, she turned over in bed and tried to fall asleep again.

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Naruto woke with a start, haunted by the memory of what Itachi did to his own brother. 'So much for family,' he thought, remembering how Sasuke was forced to relive the day when Itachi brutally murdered the entire Uchiha clan. 'I should have done something to stop it,' he scolded himself. 'I shouldn’t have let him suffer like that! I feel terrible for him, and now Sakura-chan is worried about him… I couldn’t do anything! And I feel even worse, because I have to see Sakura-chan every day.' Turning over in bed, he tried to fall back asleep.

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The next morning, the Sakura and Naruto met outside the Academy to receive their orders. Naruto was sitting up against a tree near the swing as Sakura came over.

“Ohayo, Sakura-chan,” Naruto murmured.

'He’s been so down around me, lately,' Sakura noticed. Maybe he’s blaming himself about Sasuke-kun. “Good morning, Naruto,” she replied cheerily. She sat down on the swing, and looked down at Naruto. “You know, Naruto,” she began, as Naruto turned his head to look at her, “what happened to Sasuke-kun wasn’t your fault.” Her voice lowered to a whisper as Naruto let out a “huh?” “Anything you would have done would have gotten you killed. Itachi is supposed to be as strong as Orochimaru! I don’t blame you, so don’t blame yourself, OK?”

“Sakura-chan…” Naruto began.

Sakura smiled. “C’mon, Naruto, we have to go in and get our orders. We’re probably just going to be told to train and help construction, again.” She grabbed Naruto’s hand and pulled him up and into the Academy.

When they got into the mission assignment hall, Naruto’s eyes widened. As usual, the spot where Old Man Hokage used to sit was empty, but there was a new face in the room. “Oy! Ero-Sennin! Why are you here,” Naruto demanded.

Sakura looked at the man that Naruto just called a perverted hermit, and thought to herself, 'Ero-Sennin!?' just as a vein in Jiraya’s forehead bulged and he jumped over the table and punched Naruto in the face. “How many times have I told you not to call me that!!!! Kuso!”

“EETEY!”

Sakura sweatdropped.

The Daimyo cleared his throat, which pacified the enraged Jiraya, and called Naruto’s attention. He looked at Naruto, then Jiraya. “This is the promising student of yours you recommended?”

Jiraya smiled, put his hand on Naruto’s head, and laughed. “Yondime Hokage-sama and I got along the same way we do, and he turned out alright, to say the least.” He paused to let that sink in. “Anyway, Naruto’s capable of this mission. He’ll be fine.”

Sakura looked at Naruto and Jiraya. 'What’s going on here? Naruto’s being trained by the Fourth Hokage’s instructor?!' It took a few more seconds for it to sink in. Her eyes widened. 'Mission? What mission?'

“Well, then, let’s begin,” the Daimyo said, and sat down. Several other ninjas sitting at the table rose to close the windows and shutters. After molding some chakra at each window, they left. Jiraya then molded chakra at the door. Noting Naruto and Sakura’s confusion, he said, “Prevents eavesdroppers.”

“Team Seven,” the Daimyo said after the room was secured, “you are receiving a special mission. Jiraya-sama highly recommended you for this mission. This mission is of the utmost importance to Konoha.”

The Daimyo closed his eyes and continued. “As you probably know, we have sent Jounins and Chuunins to spy on all the countries, to see if any will make a move against Konoha, weak as we are… after… after Orochimaru was done with us.” The implication was obvious. He meant after the Third Hokage was killed, and village torn practically to the ground.

Sakura spoke up first. “What does that have to do with us?”

The Daimyo opened his eyes, nodded and continued. “We are seriously low on manpower right now. The majority of our ninja who are not involved in the reconstruction effort are on patrol around Konoha. All ninja in Konoha are on call for when the signal is given. Even the spies we sent out are under-manned. None of the spies sent out can send anyone back to report their findings. This is where you come in. Having no tradesman skills, or special abilities…”

“Hey!” Naruto interjected.

The Daimyo smiled. “I did not mean to offend. I simply meant that you are not a mason, blacksmith, or carpenter, so you cannot produce construction materials. You haven’t the senses of the Inuzukas, or the insect speech of the Aburames, or Byakugan, so you would not be ideal for patrolling. You haven’t the Akimichis’ ability to increase your size for heavy lifting, nor the Yamanakas’ mind-infiltrating techniques to help interrogate captives. You are useful everywhere, but do not specialize in any one place.”

The Daimyo nodded to Jiraya, who gave Naruto a scroll. “This scroll contains the names, and contact points of the spies you must make contact with. No one must see this! If anyone outside of this room sees this scroll, he must die. We cannot risk all of our spies being revealed. It is warded so that only you two may read it, but wards can be broken. Breaking wards takes time, however, which will buy you the time you need to recover it if it is stolen. You must leave in three days. Use these days for preparations. Recognize that this mission is of great importance to the village, and to your comrades. We will plot out your best route for travel, while you make preparations. Be aware: this mission will take several weeks to complete. See to it that you are prepared. Dismissed.”

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“So much to do,” Sakura said, as they walked out. “I don’t even know where to start…”

“Start with the essentials: a few days food, several changes of clothes, extra shinobi equipment, sleeping bag.” Naruto said, offhandedly. “We may have to spend a few days in the wild. We’ll have a better idea tomorrow, when they’ve plotted our route out. We’ll probably get some days at hotels, so don’t worry.”

'He knows more about traveling than I do,' Sakura thought. 'The last time I was out of the village was during our trip to Wave Country! He and that Jiraya must have gone on several trips, right?' “Naruto,” Sakura asked. “How do you know Jiraya-sama?”

“Oh. Ero-sennin? I met him after the preliminaries for the third exam.” Naruto scratched his head as he continued walking. “He kicked the crap out of the closet-pervert Kakashi-sensei made me study under…”

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By the time they got to Sakura’s house, he was finishing up the story. “…So Granny Tsunade is going to be the Fifth Hokage, but she’s had to make a few stops along the way to pay of her gambling debts.”

“I’ll start packing now,” Sakura told Naruto. “You should, too.”

“You bet,” Naruto said. “Oh, and let your friends know that you’re going on a mission. But don’t tell them more than they need. If anything happens…”

“I know,” Sakura replied, annoyed that Naruto found it necessary to tell her that. She calmed down a bit. “See you tomorrow, Naruto.”

“Bye.”

Sakura waved goodbye to Naruto, then closed the door, and leaned on it. She put a hand on her cheek. It was burning up! Naruto was making her blush! 'Its just because he was talking about getting Tsunade-sama to heal up Sasuke-kun… But… Naruto really shouldn’t care about Sasuke-kun. The two of them never get along, and since Naruto really likes me, he should be happy that Sasuke-kun is out of the way,' she thought. 'But… he went to get Tsunade-sama to heal Sasuke-kun for me!'

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Sakura and Sasuke stood looking at Kakashi, trying to teach Naruto Chidori. Kakashi knew he couldn’t explain it, and the only reason Sasuke was able to learn it was by copying it with Sharingan. He was just trying to make Naruto look stupid for fun.

Sakura turned to Sasuke. “Sasuke-kun, arrigato. You saved us from the Sand again, didn’t you?”

Sasuke took a long time to respond, and he did so with a pained face. “No… Naruto saved you.”

'Naruto did?' Sakura thought. She looked back at Sasuke “Now, now, Sasuke-kun. There’s no need to be modest. It’s true that Naruto’s gotten stronger, but he couldn’t have…”

Sasuke cut her of with two words that sounded more forced and pained than any she ever heard before. “It’s true.” He paused. “He… he fought with everything he had to save you. He even showed powers he’s never shown before.”

“He did?” Sakura murmured. “For me?”

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Jiraya knocked on Naruto’s door again. Annoyed, he bit his thumb, formed a few seals, and pressed his hand onto the door. “Ninpo, Kuchiyose!” There was a small puff of smoke, and soon, the door opened. Jiraya had summoned on the other side of the door to open it for him.

A voice behind him made him jump. “Oy, Ero-sennin? Why are you breaking into my house?”

“Hey, Naruto. I thought you would be home already. You always love going on missions, so I figured you were home packing, and ignoring everything else,” Jiraya said. “I was going to invite you for some ramen for lunch.”

At the word ‘ramen,’ Naruto’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go,” Naruto replied.

As they entered Ichiraku Ramen, the old man running the stand turned around and bowed, then smiled as he realized how much money Naruto was going to make him, and how much Jiraya was about to spend.

“Naruto,” Jiraya began, “I think you can do this, but be careful. You’re not the sharpest kunai in the satchel, which is why I recommended that someone go with you. And they decided that you should go with Sakura because you two have already done missions together.”

Jiraya laughed. “If I remember correctly, when I was about to send you to your death, I asked you if there was a woman you loved, and ordered you to give her a hug.” He smiled, and took a sip of his drink. “Now unless I’m senile, that was her. She seemed a lot warmer to you now than she was then.”

Naruto frowned. “She likes Sasuke. Not me. She’s only being friendly because Granny Tsunade is going to come back and heal him because of me.”

Jiraya smiled knowingly, and turned to the old man. “You have any warm sake? I need one bottle, and two cups.”

Naruto gave a start, and then looked at Jiraya. Jiraya poured the sake into one cup, put it by his plate, and filled the other one, and gave it to Naruto. “You’re mature enough to have some. Going on a mission without supervision is usually cause for celebration. It’s a coming of age. You’re an adult now. Take it easy on it, though. Sake is a lot stronger than you’d think.”

Naruto smiled, and hesitantly raised it to his lips. Jiraya watched him like a father would watch his rapidly maturing son. Then, he looked past Naruto and suddenly realized exactly how many bowls of ramen Naruto ate. Jiraya felt a drop of sweat roll down the back of his head. 'I’m never taking him here again. Next time we go somewhere else. ANYTHING but ramen for him.' He sighed, and started digging through his pockets, hoping he had enough cash.

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So, what do you think? Any good? Please do R&R.