Fade In

Fade In

Chapter Eleven – Break

…

“A-ANBU?!”

Shikamaru and Neji took in Naruto’s shock with relative blandness. When the two had walked through the doors of the hospital, both he and the Hyuuga had been surprised but were left wondering if they were seeing things, as they had both sustained head injuries during the mission they’d just returned from.

However, all doubts were dashed when the blonde, upon sighting them, ran over to greet them again after five long years with the Uchiha trailing behind. Though older, Uzumaki Naruto’s attitude was still very much the same and Sasuke was a bit more talkative, though not by much, but hell, it was a considerable improvement. But it was nice to know they hadn’t died or been maimed during their travels.

“This is a hospital Naruto, might want to lower your voice a little bit.” Shikamaru advised, seeing the piercing looks the receptionists were throwing their way.

“When?” Sasuke asked, trying to hide his own surprise but didn’t quite manage the feat.

“About three years ago.” The Hyuuga heir replied nonchalantly.

“But…” Naruto didn’t know what to say, was rendered speechless at the impossibility of it all.

“Two years after you left, she tried for ANBU and made it. She’s a captain now.” Shikamaru clarified for the two stunned shinobi, drawing in a small sort of amusement at their expense.

Naruto fell into the unoccupied seat beside the shadow user. “Sakura’s an ANBU captain…” He whispered in awe.

Sasuke paced a little ways away, running a hand through his dark locks. She was supposed to be here saving people not on S-class missions where her life was in potential danger! He then wondered why he was reacting the way he was, why his gut was clenching and why he was suddenly irritated.

Sakura was an ANBU captain.

Had he really expected her to wait for them?

Yes. Just like she always did.

Just then Shizune walked through the swinging double doors and stopped in front of Shikamaru and Neji, but her eyes strayed to the other two ninja.

“Naruto, Sasuke, it’s good to have the both of you back.”

“Hey Shizune.” Naruto responded, but his mind lay elsewhere. Sasuke simply nodded, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to voice much of anything.

She stared questioningly at them for a moment, a little curious about what had them so preoccupied that they couldn’t even give a decent greeting, but then she remembered the reasons why she was out here in the first place and leveled a glare at her intended targets. “It’s nice to finally see you two in here for once. Grew tired of trying to hide from my medics?”

“It got troublesome.” Shikamaru stood up, his vision going a bit blurry and his axis tipping a little to the left.

“Right.” Shizune drawled and shook her head. She wrapped an arm around the taller ninja and then helped Neji up who was sporting a few broken ribs and a head injury, very similar to his teammate’s but less severe.

Neji gave Naruto and Sasuke one last look over his shoulder before pausing and letting the words slip from his mouth. “She did well without the both of you.”

They turned towards the Byakugan user and a rueful smile crossed Naruto’s lips. “I guess she did.”

Shikamaru threw them a lazy wave as Shizune helped them along. “See you around Uzumaki, Uchiha.” And it wasn’t long after that they disappeared through the swinging doors.

It seemed like forever before either one said anything, but even then they couldn’t really find the right words. So they settled on simply remaining silent for the time being as everything sunk in. But the fact that they had been deluding themselves all along, keeping alive the false hope that Sakura would be here at the hospital because they couldn’t picture her anywhere else wasn’t lost on them. It made them feel incredibly stupid and it made their hearts twist in guilt and shame.

They had honestly believed and automatically assumed that she had chosen a life dedicating her medic skills to the hospital. Here she would be safe, out of harm’s way and saving lives, things they had always thought she’d choose over taking missions. Did they really have such little faith in her that discovering she was now an ANBU captain was leaving them both in a state of shock and disbelief? Why was it so hard for them to believe and accept that she was now one of the elite ANBU shinobi?

Because she was Sakura. Their Sakura Haruno. Their cherry blossom come to life. Their former teammate who had always been there but was never as strong and skilled as them. And she had moved on, hadn’t waited for them like she always did and seemed so much farther away now than ever before.

And they had no one to blame but themselves.

…

They had said their farewells five days after completing the mission. Hikaru was now able to move around, though Sakura advised in her medic tone that plenty of rest was still necessary. Michiru made a full recovery and was already beginning to make repairs to the castle and to the village, was walking around the streets and talking to the people. He honestly told them that though Getsugakure was now safe from harm, there would always be threats no matter what and that he’d do everything in his power to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

Bodies were buried. Loved ones were mourned. The gates reopened. And slowly, the Hidden Village of the Moon was slipping back into life.

“We can’t thank you enough.” Michiru said.

Sakura stepped forward and was about to say something when she was suddenly engulfed by Hikaru’s arms. Whatever words she was about to speak died on her tongue and she smiled softly, ruffling his hair.

“You’ll come back and visit?” He asked.

She wouldn’t make promises because she was in no position to do such a thing. “We’ll see. But in the meantime, take care of yourself Hikaru… take care of your important people…”

As the island in the shape of a crescent moon became smaller and smaller, blending into the dark, distant horizon, all four shinobi found themselves lost in their own thoughts. Currently on the ferry taking them back to Fire Country and if weather permitted, they’d arrive in Konoha late into tomorrow night when silence reigned and hardly anyone walked the streets.

As the moon illuminated shadows and created others, Kano glanced at his captain who stood several feet away from them. She had been quieter ever since waking up three days ago. She hadn’t spoken much, had only issued orders and said necessary good-byes. But he could tell something stirred beneath her skin, as if threatening, begging, trying to claw its way out. Her shoulders were constantly tense and she seemed so distant, so preoccupied with something unknown to them. Though on several occasions Aki had tried to broach the subject only to be told that everything was fine and not to worry.

They knew something had happened during her confrontation with Dai Oshiro. Exactly what still remained the unwavering mystery. Would she tell them? Most likely not. Would they keep pursuing the issue? Not unless they wanted to eat bark. So they left her alone, left her to deal with whatever cards she’d been dealt under a night sky that had been rocked with explosions and riddled with death and memory.

And it pained them to do so. Sakura was their captain, their teammate, their friend and absolute important person. She beat their asses, healed their wounds, laughed with them and talked with them, kept them alive when everything seemed lost and broken and they were all but dragging themselves across the forest floor together. They had operated as one unit for so long now that it was unnerving and frustrating to see one of their own like this.

The dark haired ANBU shinobi tore his amber eyes away, clenching his fists around the shiny metal balustrade of the ferry. The jagged scar that ran the length of his right temple to just below his cheekbone was a painful reminder of how he failed one of the very first teams he’d been assigned to. What was supposed to be a quiet and simple escort mission through Grass Country turned out to be a bloody battle with missing nin. He’d been ordered to secure the client and he had, truly he had but it hadn’t been good enough.

Coming from a respected family hadn’t mattered at that moment. Coming from a line that produced exceptional shinobi hadn’t mattered either. The razor sharp arrows had been released and he’d been too slow to stop them all. The client was impaled through the left lung, again through the leg and as his life blood spilled from his mouth, he had gurgled a pained apology for not telling them everything, for leaving out the crucial facts because all he wanted was to get back home to his wife and son.

Through the entirety of the fight for life and somewhere between defending the fallen body, Kano had felt a white hot pain tear into the side of his face, ruthless and unforgiving and a clear sign that he wasn’t as good a shinobi as he first thought himself to be, far from it actually. Everything had become fuzzy after that, blinded by blood and self-preservation, he hadn’t remembered much of the aftermath. Just that he had failed and their client, now laying dead on the ground at his feet, would never get to see his wife and son ever again.

‘Not every mission is a success. Not everyone makes it through unscathed. Not everyone makes it through alive. Something always happens, whether you’re prepared for it or not. So don’t get caught in the trappings of grief and sorrow and all the things you could’ve done differently to change the end. The best any good shinobi can do is to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

Kano’s very first team leader had saved him that day and spoken those words like a wise and hardened man. He’d understood more from that mission than from anything he’d ever learned at the Academy. Mission after mission, successes and failures and in-betweens and then ANBU. It had been the next and almost impossible step away but forward. Though the jagged scar always remained a reminder of his inadequacy at the time, was a driving force that pushed him to become better and protect those he cared about.

His golden eyes darted to where Sakura was only to find that she had disappeared. He then felt Aki stop beside him and lean on the balustrade.

“I feel horribly useless right now.”

Releasing a sigh, Kano had to agree. “You think we’re doing the right thing? Giving her space instead of poking and prodding like we usually do?”

Aki was unsure for a moment, hesitancy flickering across his blue-violet eyes that watched the indigo waves of the ocean. But he nodded all the same. “I think…well, I hope so.”

His ANBU teammate nodded. “I get the feeling that this is something different. This isn’t Sakura silently angry or sad. Whatever happened triggered something much deeper and more personal.”

“Like bad memories?” Aki guessed.

But Kano shook his head. “Seems worse.”

And as a brief interlude of silence fell upon them, what Aki said next seemed the most accurate description. “Like someone rose from the dead.”

…

Porcelain mask lying forgotten beside her, Sakura sat on the top of the ferry looking up into the night sky, distantly admiring the way the stars shone brighter here than they did back in Konoha. And as she sat, drowning in memories, in pain, in the buildup of vengeance and the hatred she felt both for herself and for Akai, she wondered how she was supposed to forget the past and move on when it kept hounding her at every turn.

She had been impulsive and irrational, her head clouded in a fierce passion for revenge when she had fought him in Michiru’s garden. His appearance had made her heart stop and her eyes see red because truly, all she wanted to do was tear out his heart and watch as he died a gruesome death. But she’d been too blinded by her fury, too overcome with the past and the emotional baggage. And she hated herself for once again falling prey to his malicious hands.

With a heart and soul so consumed with an unresolved lust to see him die, Sakura was overwhelmed, at times questioning her sanity even. She had let him get away once again. She hadn’t fulfilled her promise to two of her most important people, even though they were no longer with her. Sometimes, she even felt her reality blur a little bit and sometimes, all she wanted to do was scream and cry and wish she was dead. So tormented by nightmares of her old ANBU team and of that one mission that had changed her in so many ways, she couldn’t sleep at night and felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, straining and terribly heavy.

Sakura glared at the darkened skies. “You just love to make things complicated for me don’t you?” She murmured spitefully. The fates had to have been laughing at her right now and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

As a wispy cloud momentarily overshadowed the moon, a stray realization hit her and she couldn’t remember the last time she had thought about him. About the boy she had foolishly given her heart to when she was young and stupid and all that mattered to her was his acknowledgement of her existence.

Sasuke.

“I understand now…” Her whisper was caught on the gentle breeze, carried across the ocean and far away from the low thrum of the ferry.

A few moments floated by before Kakashi, a copy of Icha Icha in hand, casually joined her, quietly plopping himself beside her sitting form. They didn’t speak right away. On the contrary, the copy nin just continued to read, every now and then flipping a page or two of the orange bound book until Sakura couldn’t take it anymore.

“What?”

He peeked over the top of the book, eyebrow raised. “Excuse me?”

She rolled her jade eyes. “What do you want Kakashi?”

He shrugged his shoulders, eye once again drawn to the white pages. “Just thought I’d join you. Why? Is my company not good enough for you?” The copy nin asked.

Sakura sighed and decided to quit altogether. She wasn’t in the mood to explain why she wanted to be left alone. She didn’t want to have to explain to probably the only person she knew would understand, why she felt so on edge and bloodthirsty and incomplete, like she had lost a piece of herself somewhere along the way.

She didn’t want his wise words or to acknowledge the fact that every time he came around, his presence calmed her, put her at ease with a sense of familiarity because it let her know that someone from the very beginning was still with her and hadn’t faded like all the others. He didn’t need to know that. But it disturbed her a little as to why he didn’t need to know. It wasn’t like she would be declaring undying love for him if she did tell him that just by being here with her, whether wanted or not, it made her life a little more bearable and easier to breathe.

Sakura furrowed her brows and lying down so she could watch her former sensei hidden behind the orange book, quietly studied him. His trademark slouch, which had to be bad for his posture, his silver hair in disarray, Icha Icha Volume 75, Special Edition, hands with neatly trimmed nails but decorated with calluses, the standard issue jounin uniform, and the mask that was always there covering a face she saw few and far between.

“See something you like?” He teased from behind his written porn.

Sakura disregarded it though, instead asking him a question. “Kakashi, why are you here?”

“You looked lonely.”

She smiled and turned her gaze up to the neon stars. “Do you remember that mission to Earth Country?”

“The one with Kiba and Hinata?”

“Mmhmm. The one where we almost died.”

“How could I forget?” Kakashi curiously peered from the side of the book at his former student. She seemed calmer now, less tense and more balanced but where was she going with all this?

Her voice lowered to barely a whisper. “Do you remember the promise we made to each other as we fought to stay alive?”

Kakashi closed Icha Icha and stashed it in the right pocket of his vest. “Yes.” And he remembered it well.

“If we die on a mission, we die together so neither one of us is alone.”

“Are you planning to die on me Sakura?” Kakashi asked in all seriousness.

She smiled ruefully. “I’m not all that great with promises. But I’m a cat remember? I think I have a few lives left.”

“What’s really the matter Sakura? Your team’s on edge if you hadn’t already noticed. What really happened at the castle?”

The pink haired kunoichi remained silent but she had become guarded much to Kakashi’s dismay.

“It has to do with what happened two and a half years ago doesn’t it?”

“The past has a cruel way of creeping up on you.” Sakura replied vaguely before standing up. She paused before leaving him though, she had been meaning to apologize to him. “Kakashi, about that night. I didn’t mean to say those words to you so I’m sorry if I hurt you. I—”

He cut her off. “No harm done Sakura. We’ve been through too much to apologize for nightmares.” He smiled reassuringly and she found that she liked it when he smiled, when his eye crinkled and made him look like a goofy old man.

“I’ll…I’ll tell you when I’m ready okay?” She whispered.

“Okay.” Kakashi watched as she tossed a thankful smile his way before jumping down onto the lower levels of the ferry.

There was no point in trying to force what happened out of her. It’d get him nowhere and he’d end up dealing with a pissed off Sakura. He was confident though that she would come to him and tell him everything. She almost always did because he listened and that made all the difference. He liked listening to her anyway, that is whenever either of them got the chance or a small reprieve from missions was granted or they were thrown on missions together.

But Kakashi’s worry for her didn’t quell. Sometimes she talked of death so casually, as if by dying tomorrow it wouldn’t matter much. Did she not realize that there were so many people around her that would be affected? Kano and Aki. Tsunade. Shizune. Ino and Genma and Shikamaru and Neji. Hinata and Tenten and Lee who would no doubt fall into a deep despair of youth so cruelly ended.

And him.

He’d felt compelled to touch her, to soothe her, to let her know that he was there and would always be there. And by all rights he probably shouldn’t even be thinking such things. He’d sinned enough and lost enough to know that he shouldn’t form attachments and get involved. But Sakura was just too important for him to watch from afar.

And once again he was left wondering about the nature of their relationship and if either one of them would be willing to broach the subject of what they truly meant to each other and not just offer the other vague words and small sentiments.

“If we die on a mission, we die together so neither one of us is alone.”

“And if one of us dies and we’re not together?” Kakashi pointed out, the pool of blood beneath them steadily growing larger.

Sakura grabbed his hand with what little strength she had left and held it to her chest. “Then we’ll think of each other and then…and then maybe we won’t be so alone.”

…

Under the cloak of night, they descended into Konoha, feet lightly touching upon tree limbs and tiled roofs as they headed towards the Hokage Tower. Kakashi had sent Pakkun ahead earlier to inform Tsunade of their late arrival and seeing the dim light emanating from the large windows of her office, knew she had received the message.

It was only moments before they were walking into her office, effectively waking her up from whatever light doze she was in.

“Hokage-sama.” Sakura greeted as they all stood side by side.

Tsunade stood up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I take it the mission went well?”

“As well as any mission can go.” Kakashi replied.

“And the cause?”

Sakura answered. “Power hungry friend and scrolls. The poison turned out to be belladonna.”

The Godaime nodded. “I expect to receive all your mission reports in a timely manner. Until then, get some rest.” Her gaze then lingered on the copy nin. “Kakashi, a word.”

Sakura, Kano and Aki departed, all three silently glad that they didn’t have to stay longer. They were bone tired and wanted nothing but to fall into their beds and sleep. And just as silently as they had entered the office, they departed, disappearing into the shadows.

After a few seconds of silence, Tsunade released a tired sigh. “Naruto and Sasuke are back in Konoha.”

Of all things Kakashi was expecting, it certainly hadn’t been that. He was dumbstruck for several minutes, not quite certain if he had heard her correctly. “Care to repeat that? I don’t think my ears heard that right.”

She ran a hand down her face in annoyance. “Your ears are working just fine Kakashi. They arrived two days ago.”

He scratched the back of his head. Well damn, this was a surprise. “And why didn’t you tell Sakura?”

“I didn’t want her to find out from me. But she’ll know soon enough. They’ve been hanging around all day and night waiting for the both of you.”

“Hn. Have they changed?”

Tsunade shrugged. “Yes and no. Find out for yourself Hatake, they were once your genin students.”

“I suppose I’ll have to.” Kakashi smiled. “Is that all Hokage-sama?”

She nodded and then he was gone in a cloud of smoke.

…

Sakura bid Aki and Kano a silent farewell and watched as they went their separate ways. She knew she at least owed them some type of explanation for her distant and odd behavior the past couple of days but she just couldn’t find it within herself to tell anyone. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to as it would no doubt bring about their penchant for being overprotective. In the end, it all came down to she and Akai. What use was there to involve others who weren’t even a part of it from the beginning? It would just serve to complicate matters and potentially put those she cared about in danger. She wasn’t willing to do that.

But she’d tell Kakashi, just like she said she would. Sakura owed him too much not to tell him anyway and because, if there was ever a person she knew would listen, it would be him. As to when, well, that was up to her and if she knew herself as well as she thought she did, it’d be the most accurate and safe time to tell him.

She glanced up at the sky from the tiled rooftop she stood upon, something she’d been doing a lot of lately, and let the late night breeze caress her body. But something cracked behind her and in a smooth, practiced flow of motion, Sakura unsheathed her ninjaken while spinning around to face the intruders on her solitude.

“Sakura-chan…”

She almost dropped her blade, but instantly gripped it tightly in her right hand. This had to be a cruel joke right? Some sort of god forsaken genjutsu someone who didn’t like her had created just for her sake? A glaring reminder of another old team lost and broken, taunting her with what could’ve been versus what was and is?

Sakura took a small step back, her mind disbelieving and shocked, forced to reassess her surroundings and make damn sure she was actually in Konoha and not asleep and floating in her often twisted dreamscapes. But their faint and oh so familiar chakra signatures called out to her and she felt her world tip once again and dive into a black abyss. Even though they’d been gone for so long, she’d never be able to mistake the unique chakra that flowed throughout each of them.

“Sakura…”

His voice had grown a little deeper the last she heard it. Naruto’s as well. No dream could be this real. No dream could send a tide of emotions this fierce and conflicting through her. First Akai and now them. People who she thought had disappeared from her life were now slowly fading back in, disrupting what little balance she had created for herself, what little control she had left.

They were real. She was real. Everything was real and raw and twisted.

Sakura re-sheathed her ninjaken with fluid grace, but inside…inside cracked a tumultuous thunderstorm. She knew that eventually this day had to come but she’d desperately hoped it wouldn’t have been so soon. Her slightly trembling hand carefully removed the ANBU mask hiding her features and she faced them, uninhibited and no longer the Sakura they once knew.

“Naruto. Sasuke.” Their names were foreign on her tongue. It had been a very long time since she’d spoken them.

Naruto smiled, taking a step forward with a renewed sense of hope only to frown when she took another step back. “Sakura-chan?”

She could hear the confusion and a little hurt laced within her name and she didn’t miss the brief look of happiness that took over his features just moments ago. Always the hopeful Naruto and still expressive as ever. But he was older and still just as boyishly handsome. He was much taller, leaner and more muscular, broader shoulders and had slightly longer hair from what she remembered.

And Sasuke. Her stormy green eyes shifted to him. He seemed not as cold and distant as before. His stance much more open, though still a little guarded and alert with his unruly dark locks swaying in the soft breeze. Narrow hips and an equally lean and hard body like his blonde counterpart. The years had been kind to the both of them. He actually seemed approachable now.

She hadn’t expected them to be the same after all these years, so was it really a surprise to discover that she too had changed? A spark of anger went off. They didn’t really believe she’d wait for them did they? That she couldn’t do better without them? And then a small sort of melancholy drifted around her and through her, did they really have such little faith in her?

Tension, a very thick and almost tangible tension, filled the air around them.

“It’s been awhile Sakura.” It was Sasuke who managed to slice through and who slowly, with small steps, lessened the gap between them.

“It has.” She once again took a few steps back and shook her head. “Forgive me if I feel a little overwhelmed right now. It’s not every day that two people who left me decide to walk back into my life.”

Naruto pushed past Sasuke. “We know we were stupid Sakura-chan! That we should’ve said good-bye and talked to you! We know and we were wrong. But damn it!” He ran a rough hand through his blonde hair in frustration.

“We know that things have changed Sakura.” Sasuke said, hiding his clenched fist in his pocket as he tried to sort through his own emotions and form coherent words to make her stay just a little bit longer. “We were stupid and stubborn, selfish even. But we didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s a little late for that.” Sakura looked away, unable to stand looking at them any longer. “Did you know how heartbroken I was?” She quietly continued. “To find out that two of my precious people that I cared about and loved like brothers just decided to leave without letting me know anything at all. Was I not important enough? Was I too weak?”

Naruto shook his head, hating how things had turned out the way they did. “That wasn’t it Sakura.”

She laughed and it was bitter and sad and full of regret and lost hope. “I would’ve given up everything to go with the both of you. We were a team right? Team Seven, Team Kakashi…I stupidly thought we were inseparable. But like always, I was the one left behind.” She clutched her porcelain mask tighter, until she swore she heard it crack.

“We never intended to make you feel weak or abandoned Sakura. At the time we believed you were better off here in Konoha than with us.” Sasuke explained.

Naruto reached out to her only to stop halfway there and drop his arm in defeat. “We knew that if we told you face to face, it’d be harder to leave.”

“So you two decided to leave me with a fucking note on my door?”

“It was the best way.” Whispered Sasuke, his dark eyes never leaving her. She was so different now that he wondered what had happened to her.

Sakura pierced him with hard verdant eyes that once, a long time ago, had held so much love for him. Anger spiked and swirled around her. “For you it was.”

“Would you have truly wanted to come with us? Would you really have been able to leave Konoha behind for however long it took? Five years Sakura, it took us find peace with ourselves, with who we were, who we are now and what we’ve become.”

“I was never given the chance Naruto.” She was clenching her gloved hands, remembering that they were on a roof and therefore couldn’t release the pent up emotion by breaking ground.

“Don’t you see Sakura!? We’re sorry for being selfish jerks! We’re sorry for leaving you all alone! We never meant to though. I just thought…I didn’t want you give up everything you had here just for us. You deserved more than that.” The blonde confessed, looking at his pink haired former teammate in earnest, to make her understand.

“No, you don’t see Naruto!” She yelled as bit by bit her control slipped out of her grasp. “You two were everything! For so long I gave the both of you my life. Missions, love, care, searching for you Sasuke, trying to bring you back home, the blood and the sweat and all the fucking tears! It was a hard and terrible blow to find out that I didn’t at least deserve a goodbye before you left Konoha.”

But Sasuke was through listening. Did he have to tackle her to the roof tiles just to get her to understand that they suffered now because of their past indiscretions? That they were ashamed and far past guilty for causing her unnecessary pain? Flickering behind her, he was about to engulf her in his arms, hold her and make her understand, even if she struggled against him, that they were truly sorry. But his actions ceased the moment he felt the razor sharp point of her blade dangerously close to his throat.

“Don’t.” Sakura warned with a deadly calm.

Naruto started forward only to be frozen in place by those jade eyes that no longer exuded the happiness or love he remembered so well. His heart plummeted at their ill-fated reunion. “Sakura-chan…”

She took a deep breath, trying to hold onto herself, trying to remember all those hard lessons ANBU burned into her mind about control and not letting emotions spill onto the surface. But it was so hard right now and she was just so tired of fighting to stay ahead, to not drown in everything that had happened.

“Underneath it all, I understood the reasons why you two left Konoha and I don’t hate either of you. We’ve been through too much for that. But things aren’t the same anymore and they never will be.” Sakura lowered her ninjaken and looked at them, letting a sad smile touch her lips. “We aren’t who were five years ago. I know that and the both of you know that. So please don’t come asking for forgiveness because I have none to give.”

She took a step away from Naruto and Sasuke, silently wondering if things could’ve turned out differently for Team Seven, something happier maybe. Replacing her ANBU mask, she quickly dispersed in a gentle flurry of blossoms, knowing that had she lingered a second longer, she would’ve broken down and not known how to pick herself back up.

Sasuke suddenly tensed, looking past Naruto. “Show yourself.”

“Yo.”

“K-Kakashi-sensei!?” Naruto sputtered, eyes wide with surprise. “How long have you been there?”

“Just got here actually.” The copy nin jumped over and gracefully landed in front of them, never once taking his eyes off the pages of Icha Icha as he sat down and acted as if his former students had never left, had never vanished for five years without a word.

“What happened to her?” Sasuke asked with an edge he hadn’t really intended. But damn it all to hell, he just wanted to know what had changed her so much. At one point, he hadn’t even been sure whom they were dealing with. Was it the ANBU captain or was it Sakura?

“Welcome back to Konoha.” He smiled, eye crinkling and betraying nothing.

“Cut the crap Kakashi-sensei.” Naruto began to pace the rooftop, for once in his life at a complete loss.

“I take it the meeting with Sakura didn’t go as planned?”

The Uchiha looked away. “She’s different.”

“And she almost cut his head off.” Naruto pointed out to which the dark haired shinobi responded by sending him a death glare.

“It’s to be expected.” Kakashi shrugged, turning a page.

“What happened old man?” Sasuke bit out, irritated at his former sensei’s way of skirting the question.

“I’m quite ageless you know. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”

“Help us out damn it! Please Kakashi-sensei.” The blonde was on the verge of throttling something. He didn’t like it when his important people were in pain, especially pain that he had caused.

“I’d be betraying her trust if I said anything.”

“So what then? What the fuck do we do to make things better?!” Naruto shouted, emotions getting the better of him.

Kakashi closed his book and stood up, his dark eye hard and the easiness in his stance gone, replaced by a grim seriousness. “You wait…and hope she comes back to you.”


…to be continued…


A/N: I was on the verge of tearing my hair out many a time while writing this chapter. It was extremely difficult to write. ::scratches head:: I’m interested (and a little nervous actually) to know your thoughts though.

-hasu86