Darkest Before Dawn

She Left

   It was six o'clock am when Sakura entered the Hokage's office. Minato looked up from his paperwork and smiled at his visitor.

   "Good morning, Sakura-chan. What can I do for you today?" he asked.

   "I request a leave of absence from my duties as a Konoha shinobi." she said. Minato took a minute to process her words before he sat up straight and stared at her incredulously.

   "A leave of absence? Wouldn't that worry your teammates-"

   He stopped himself and cursed inwardly. How could he forget? Naruto went off with Jiraiya and Sasuke went off with Orochimaru for training two days ago. He looked at the thirteen year old in front of him. She had no one to train her. To hold her back. Ibiki had taught her all that he knew, Kakashi was assigned on a two year long mission, and she had no relatives to persuade her otherwise.

   "-I mean, your friends. Wouldn't they worry about you?"

   Sakura shook her head.

   "No. And if they did, it wouldn't matter to me." she replied softly, "I'm not trying to say I don't care but I have to get stronger- I need to. And as much as I've tried, I can't get stronger just by staying here. Do I have your permission, Hokage-sama?"

   The Yondaime looked at her and spotted the seriousness and determination marred in her young face. There was also something else... something he couldn't place. Finally, Minato sighed and placed his chin on his laced fingers. 

   "Alright. But I'm only giving you five years. If you do not return five years from now on this date, you will be marked down as a missing shinobi and you will be hunted. Do you accept these terms?"

   "Hai, Hokage-sama."

   Minato was hesitant as he pulled out her file and stamped it as 'inactive'. Sakura bowed, untied her hitai-ate, and placed it on his desk.

   "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

   She turned and left the office. The blonde stared after her and wondered. Did she really do it to get stronger, or did she do it to be free of her ties as she goes to kill the man who killed her parents?

~

   "So he said yes. I'm surprised." Ibiki said as he watched his student pack her bags. "Then again, if he said no, you still would've left." 

   Sakura smiled up at him.

   "I'm surprised too, but I'm glad. I feel that I'll learn more out there than I will here. No offense, sensei."

   Ibiki chuckled and leaned against the door frame. For seven years, he had seen her grow. It would be... weird not to be with her at the training grounds nearly everyday, but he wanted her to grow even more. He really didn't support her decision, but he guessed that this was one of the things she had to do. He reached into his back pouch and pulled out a black katar.

   "Sakura."

   She turned around.

  "Hai?"

   Ibiki handed her the weapon with a soft smile.

   "Take it with you; it was my first weapon. I'm sure that you'll find it useful."

   Sakura slowly took the weapon and stared at it. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around the man's midsection and squeezed him tightly.

   "I'm going to miss you, sensei." she mumbled into his shirt. Ibiki returned the hug and sighed.

   "I'm gonna miss you too, kid."

~

   "Come on, Itachi!" Shisui exclaimed, patting his baby cousin on the back, "We're all going to Ichiraku to celebrate the success of the mission! You in?"

   Itachi shook his head and positioned his cat-resembling mask on his hip. Shisui sighed.

   "Fine, suit yourself. But next time, there's no getting out!" 

   Shisui jogged away with the rest of the team and Itachi released a small sigh. He deactivated his sharingan and made way for the compound, but paused when he detected a small sliver of familiar chakra heading towards the gates. It was strange. She had never been on a solo mission as far as he knew. Was she getting one now? Itachi spun on his heel and quickly paced to where she was. He immediately spotted the head of pink hair.

   She was standing at the gates with her backpack on and a katana strung diagonally across her back. Her waist long hair was tied up in it's usual ponytail and swayed silently with the cool, evening breeze. It was odd to see her so late at night. Usually, she'd be at the training grounds or in bed.

   "Where are you going?" he questioned. Sakura stopped without looking back.

   "I don't know." she said, "I haven't planned that far ahead."

   "Planned? Are you not going out for a mission?"

   "... No. I'm not."

   She turned around fully and gazed at him with glazed green eyes. Her lips pulled up into a sad smile as she tried her best to cover up any emotion underneath. Panic flushed through Itachi's veins. He had never seen that look on the face that always showed him happiness- either to him or the rest of the world.

   "I'm sorry."

   I'm sorry? No. What was she doing? What was she thinking? She wasn't leaving, wasn't she? She couldn't. He wouldn't let her. Before he could react, he stiffened when warm breath tickled the back of his ear. When did she-? How-?

   "Thank you, Itachi."

   He fell unconscious with the thought of his most precious person.

~

   Itachi opened his eyes to see a dark sky. It was pitch black outside. No moon, no stars, yet a street lamp flickered every so often in the distance.

   What was he doing here again?

   He sat up from the bench he was laid on and looked around. Realization hit as memories of his earlier encounter coursed through him. Itachi gripped the cloth of his pants until the were on the verge of tearing.

   'Sakura...'