IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I updated Chapter 11 guys. You should read it if you still haven't. :)
Ino once again walked the all too familiar road to Naruto's apartment. She had been contemplating on what to do ever since the truth was layed out infront of her and whispered closely to her ear. She couldn't sleep well last night and just thoughts about all the information about Sakura.
"Sasori is planning to sacrifice himself for Sakura's life. A life for a life, as Sai said." Tsunde's voice echoed in her head. She can't bear to see Sakura so devastated and broken over the death of her brother. She can already have an image of Sasori as a brother based on what Tsunade told them. She squished her eyes shut as images of a broken Sakura flooded her mind. No, I won't let that happen. That is why we have to do this no matter what the consequence, she reminded herself.
A few feet away, she saw Hinata standing contemplating on whether to go inside or not. She could clearly see her hesitating and fiddling with her fingers.
Hinata looked worriedly at the apartment infront of her. She knows Naruto is in a tough situation right now, knowing it is about Sakura. She sighed inwardly. All these years, she's been taking care of that grave believing Naruto's most precious person lies there, all her feelings she let out infront of that grave. Then she finds out no one was there all along. Just Sakura's-
"Hinata." A new voice entered her train of thought, startling her. "Ino?"
"What are you doing here?" Hinata asked, her meek voice the same as always. "We have the same reason, Hinata." Ino sternly said. Hinata found it so different for Ino to act this way. So stern and serious. But then again, this is Sakura we are talking about.
Neji trained alone in their backyard, hitting targets a little too harshly that cracks showed from where he imprresively hit his target without wasting any effort at all. He had been thinking about everything Tsunade said all night. He should have known. The day he saw Sakura's supposed dead body, there was something different about but he couldn't point it out. He should have known Tsunade was covering up Sasori's tracks and he should have known that it wasn't a real body. He hit another target straight into the center as it made a crack.
TenTen was watching Neji as she twirled her kunai into her finger with her knees propped up and her other arm hanging on it. She wasn't really focused on Neji though. She had so much more things in mind. One look at her and you would clearly see she's deep in thought. She was still contemplating on whether to join the secret retrieval team for Sakura until now. She feels like it's a lost cause and things could always go wrong. Every mission could be your last. Especially this one. Facing the Akatsuki, betraying your own village in a way. Oh the possibilities of never returning back to her precious village. She wasn't being selfish. It just wasn't for her life that she doesn't want to join the retrieval team, it's because of the village. That mission may be a trap and their Hokage may not know it. It would be endangering the lives of her teammates. A suicidal mission... All for Sakura. What is she to them?, she asked herself, narrowing her eyes. There was a pang of annoyance, guilt and jealousy bugging at the side of her heart.
Annoyance because Sakura is putting them in all sorts of trouble where the most possible outcome is their deaths. The loss of such great lives, which is something common to shinobis but still, losing her life over Sakura? That's too much. She had always pictured herself, if she can't live up as long as nature allowed her, dying in a battle field from protecting her village or just something much more worth it. Something much more heroic.
Guilt because she knows she's being selfish in a way. She's declining to join the retrieval team because she doesn't want to die in a not so heroic and courageous way. Selfish because she doesn't want Neji to meet Sakura again, because she knows... Thinking about this made her all more remorseful and filled with such guilt.
Jealousy because people are willing to go to such lengths, even put their life in the line, for Sakura. She wondered if anyone would ever do that for her. Also because of Neji again. She doesn't know when or how, her feelings for him just surfaced like a giant swordfish immerging out of the waters. She remembered suddenly feeling guilty when she noticed the crystal clear pain in Neji's face whenever Sakura was mentioned or how he would look at her before. She also knows Neji visited Sakura's grave regularly and would silently talk to it. Apparently, his cousin also did as well only Hinata visited more than Neji, even brought flowers.
TenTen sighed. This was so unlike her. Where had her tomboyish self go? Oh, right. It flew out the open the moment she fell for the Hyuuga.
"What are my youthful teammates still doing here in an unyouthful manner?" A youthful voice resounded. "Lee?" TenTen turned her head to see Lee warming up a few feet away from Neji. "Let's go then." Neji said as he swiftly turned to walk away. "Where to?" TenTen asked as she landed on the ground. "To the youthful Naruto Uzumaki's residence ofcourse! Are we not going to do and listen to such a rash action Naruto is thinking? Oh, such a proof of youth. Doing such rash things." Lee mused. "It is expected of the number one knucklehead in Konoha after all. Another sign of being youthful." Lee added.
"It is, Sakura after all." Neji softly said, implying that Naruto always has something unplanned that would eventually lead to the road of youthful success, no matter how dumb or stupid it may be as long as it concerns his precious friends, what more if it is Sakura?
He was responded by silence and Neji seemed to have sensed the sudden 180 degree turn in the atmosphere. TenTen had her head lowered and the emotion in her eyes covered by her dark shadows caused by her bangs. "Why such a face, TenTen?" Lee asked, going near his teammate.
"Are you two really... going?" she murmured softly, but her voice held pain.
"Tennie-chan, what's wrong?" Lee asked worriedly, going closer to the said girl. She raised her head as an angry face showed. "Are we really going to risk our lives for Sakura? We all know this is a very risky mission even though Tsunade-same didn't mention it!"
"She didn't have to. We instinctively already know. Every mission is dangerous TenTen. You should know that as a shinobi. We are never trully safe, even inside the gates of Konoha we dearly protect." Neji calmly said.
"Exactly! We dearly protect. But what if this mission is our last, huh? What if we die and hell breaks lose on Konoha when another war starts? We're gonna be wasting our lives on one girl!" TenTen furiously said, emphasizing on her last two words.
The moment TenTen said that, she immediately regretted it. When she thought of it before, it didn't hurt this much but when she said it out loud, she felt like her heart was pierced and only then did she realize what she had done. The look on Neji's face didn't even have to tell her.
Neji looked at her with a mix of confusion, anger and then disappointment. The latter hurt the most. Neji had never been disappointed in her. She looked down and felt utterly ashamed for her. She prayed Lee would intervene but in her peripheral vision, Lee wasn't looking any youthful and just looked away. He was also very much affected by her words, and when Neji's voice came back, she felt a tear in her heart.
"I thought you were better than that." He said and vanishing shortly after saying that.
TenTen stood there frozen. More realization hit her frozen state of mind at that. She was more selfish than she already thought. So terribly selfish.
"TenTen, what happened to teammates? The one which Naruto keeps on preaching, even when he's broken? The one where we all saw how he pushed himself for his 'teammates'? I'm sure we were all witnesses to it..." Lee weakly said. All his youth draining from what TenTen said.
She had looked down on a teammate.
A long lost, thought-to-be-dead teammate.
A teammate whom left everyone a much more gaping hole than what Sasuke already left.
A teammate Naruto has been mourning for all these years but managed to hide it with his ever so blazing light.
Naruto who never fails them.
Naruto who had always been there for her, for them, for everyone.
And Sasuke, who was undoubtedly part of this mission. Another mission in which Naruto would try to bring him back again. Another mission where the supposed Konoha 13 would reunite untimely, assuming they are still alive and intact when that moment arrives
"A shinobi who abandons his mission is a schum, but a teammate who abandons his teammate is more than a schum."
Naruto's words from Kakashi echoed in her mind. Naruto had always kept those precious words Kakashi preached to them, to his first ever team. Naruto had always repeated those words so perfectly and so perfectly imbedded, implanted and imprinted on his mind, heart and entire being.
She shook her head and realized she had been shedding tears. I can't take those words back anymore, but I will make things right, TenTen thought as she sprinted to her teammates.
She may not be close with Sakura and may have never talked to her before, but as a member of Konoha 10, she can clearly feel the gaping hole made by Sakura and Sasuke. A resolve formed within the knot of her stomach, like adrenaline pumping through her veins as she thought of what could have been if Sasuke and Sakura were with them. Konoha 13 would be so powerful and strong, no other opponent would dare stand in their way and even if they would, Konoha 12 would definitely beat him to a pulp one way or another.
The retrieval team for Sakura is a grave mission, but then again, since when did she back out? Besides, she's a temmate no matter what. Nothing would ever change that fact.
From below, Neji looked at her and with one look, they knew what they were gonna do though she knows Neji didn't have to think to do this. She knew about Neji's feelings and at that, her brows furrowed.
"You in it, Kiba?" Shino monotonely asked.
Kiba smirked as he rode on Akamaru. "Since when did I back out? Besides, Hinata is already there."
Shino looked at the sun rays as his bugs surrounded him.
"I thought you would have known that already." Tsunade's voice echoed in every member of Konoha 10. They definitely are in it. They are definitely bringing their lost teammates faces back to Konoha whether they have to do it by force. That gaping hole those two made, it won't last long because Sakura Haruno and Uchiha Sasuke are coming back. There won't be any holes left anymore and no matter what, that day will come and no lives will be lost.
The Konoha 10 minus Naruto gathered around the apartment. Sun rays shining down on his confident grin inside the apartment that seemed to always have been an omen for promised future.
The door opened with a grinning Naruto and the Konoha 10 surrounding him.
"This better be good." Kiba remarked.
"You bet." Naruto smugly replied, grin still in place and they couldn't help but smile.
Sakura sat by the lake silently as Suigetsu and Karin animatedly fought in the background with Juugo talking to his bird. Sasuke leaned by a nearby tree, seeming deep in thought with eyes closed.
Sakura thought of their conversation last night. It wouldn't leave her head. She let her emotions get the best of her again, leading her to say such things. She didn't mean to... But she knows those words already embedded themselves on Sasuke's memory. It was still so harsh, an understatement. Even the circumstances at present, they still had been teammates and Sasuke had always protected her along with Naruto in their Genin days. He always had. She didn't listen to the voice behind her mind saying, Everything has changed. He's not the same Sasuke anymore. She refused to listen because deep inside, no matter what, she still believes everything will be okay soon. Maybe not back to the way things used to be, but definitely better than this. Where all of them can be together again and smiling as the sun rays hit their faces. Too cliche but it was her dream. Anything can happen in her own little dream world.
Unbeknowst to her, a certain Uchiha had been staring at her the entire time.
Sakura felt someone approaching her and she knew very well who it was. She felt heself getting nervous as Sasuke stepped closer. What am I even nervous for?, she asked herself but the answer was already known to her. Their previous conversation was pretty shaken up and it didn't go well with them. She snapped at him, something she vowed never to do again. She had trained herself to be more composed, just like her Onii-san and because she doesn't want to get hurt again. She was just so confused at who she really is.
Sasuke stopped five feet away from her, sensing her distress or not that he planned on going any closer.
"Sakura."
His cool and calm voice echoed. The said girl finally decided to turn around and found that his three teammates were nowhere to be found. He must have sent them to do something while she was so busy in her own dream land. She forced a calm face upon her. Just like she always does.
"I didn't mean to." He said straight-forwardly which shocked Sakura and shattered her recently built calm facade and confused her.
"What?"
Didn't mean to what? For the fight last night or for killing her two years ago? Those two choices are so not Sasuke. A look of remorse passed by his features but he hid it well. He stepped closer again and this time, Sakura found herself against a tree. She was so nervous she didn't notice she was also stepping back as Sasuke advanced. Another look of a much more obvious remorse passed and he didn't hide it this time. Now there was only a short distance between them that if Sasuke were to extend his arms, it wouldn't fit between them. The next thing Sasuke did took Sakura to great heights.
He hugged her.
Sakura stood shocked by her spot, her arms hanging lifelessly by her side as Sasuke tightened his arms around her, a hand below her neck and another on her lower back. She was so stunned no words could form in her mind as it was racing and she swore Sasuke could feel the accelerating beat of her heart as if it would burst out of her chest.
Sakura would have been blushing till next week if she were the old Sakura.
"For everything."
And then he vanished just like that, leaving Sakura beyond stunned. Standing there as if her body was on fire except she wasn't running around looking for water. Well, actually her body really felt like it was on fire. Sasuke apologized for everything as he had thanked her for everything the night he left Konoha. Sakura's hand reached to hold her rapidly beating heart, fearing it really would run away and chase after Sasuke, wherever he was right now.
"What does that mean, Sasuke?" she asked with no answer in return.
Sasuke stood by a cliff far from where he left the stunned girl. Sakura really feared him. The way she stepped back and the strong words she let out last night was proof enough. What more proof could he ask for? Not that he needed one. He already knew Sakura would fear him. Who wouldn't fear the person who took their life away?
Oh, how wrong Sasuke was.
Sakura was most definitely not afraid of him or what he could do. She was before, but not anymore. She has already proven her theory that the old Sasuke was still in there somehow. No matter what, he is still alive and she would bring that Sasuke back. Maybe not today, definitely not in this circumstances.
As Sasuke wanted to bring that old Sakura back. Even if she was gone.
They were both trying to bring back the other's old selves, but the only difference they had is that Sasuke chose no time or circumstances as he was so determined to bring that Sakura back and as far as he was told, he had in iron-will. Something the old Sakura noticed in their genin days. He would stop at nothing, give space for no one to take her away from him. Even Sasori, atleast not until he settled things with Sakura.
Sakura deeply exhaled. "How frustrating." She murmured looking down. "He's always vanishing like that and always confusing me." my feelings.
Then, a small smile formed in her lips like she was a crazed person with her sudden mood change. "Atleast I know that Sasuke is still alive. He still has feelings. He's still human. He still hasn't crossed the path of no return.
"I'll definitely bring you back Sasuke." she said again as she looked at the direction she felt Sasuke went.