(A/N: I sincerely apologize for the late update, you have no idea about how bad I felt for keeping my dear readers waiting. I have recently moved into a new apartment, so it took most of my time. Anyway, this chapter will be about a past villain (that we'll see in the next chapters) back in game. Our favorite Sakura has left Konoha, and is traveling with the new character.... And Sasuke feels a little pain. MUAHAHA. Please enjoy!)
My words are like a sophisticated sound, only ones who care can hear me
Chapter seven: A change in the reflection
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"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Sakura's voice was to be heard as she stepped into the dusty wooden room.
Sosuke's eyes wondered up and down her body, her soft pink hair was to be damped from the previous cold shower. A short-knee light brown skirt was to be pulled up to her belly button, an old black belt and a gun-like silver buckle attached onto it. One small vest, same color as the skirt, pulled through her arms. Black leggings, covering her legs, stopped for the ankles. A white tank top was to be cut horizontally in half, showing off 1 inch of skin between the tank top and skirt. A black hanker chief hung from her neck, finished off with the ol' brown cowboy boots and spurs.
"I'd prefer my jonin outfit than this," She slightly rolled her eyes, as she kept her tone blandly, "I'm going to take this off, Hatsuharu."
Sosuke stood from the wooden stool, giving her an oh-no-you-won't-tone, "Well... I think you look pretty good, cutie," He gave a small blush and a flirty smirk.
"Shut up." Sakura spoke in a cold voice, crossing her arms.
"Heh, someone's feisty today," Sosuke kept the flirty smirk, "Your gonna have to wear it, wither you like it or not. It's very disrespectful if the females don't wear something to represent its culture." He shrugged.
The kunoichi narrowed her eyebrows, almost having the urge to get pissed, "What about you? The males, huh?" Her green orbs lingered at his outfit, noticing he was wearing regular clothes.
He wore a gray charcoal jacket, although faded yellow from the inside and a white beater concealing his masculine-like body. Cotton material was to be covering his legs; the jean's shading was pitch midnight and were to be sized typically, not baggy nor skinny. Grey hightops, well, a whole lot more thick and higher than normal. In Sakura's eyes, they looked like shoes for fighting... and he looked.. somewhat good..-
"Oh...Well," He scratched the back of his head, "The men here.. Ur...Um-"
"Well?!" She almost snapped. Surely, she did not want to dress up like a cowgirl.
Sosuke nearly flinched as his voice was now fidgety, trying to calm her down, "Okay, okay. The men always has to wear a cowboy hat."
'Kid, your really pissing me off.' Sakura barely clenched her jaw, "Where the hell is your stupid cowboy hat?"
He sighed, yet kept a happy expression. Sosuke bent over to the side as he grabbed his bag, digging though it, "Ah, here it is!" He covered his head with the black cowboy hat; matching with his raven black hair. He settled his hand over the felt texture, "See?" and grinned.
Sakura felt her anger cool off, "Whatever," She focused her gaze over to the strange shinobi, "Do women here, really dress like this? Like... they have to?"
"Yup, pretty much," He responded, soon letting go of his grip from the fur-based hat.
"Oh, I see. This is a strange place, isn't it?"
"No, not really. I guess your just used to Konoha, but this place is different from other villages," He shrugged.
"Wait, what village is this anyways?"
He put on a southern accent, "Partner, yur sett'ld in da Pine Village!" He joked.
"Eheh.. don't do that." Sakura gave an almost-glare.
"Sorry," He slightly chuckled, "Anymore questions? About anything?"
*caw* *caw*
"....Can we leave now? I'm a bit anxious to see your grandmother." She said in a monotone.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about that," Sosuke said as he lugged his bag over his shoulder. Sakura slung her backpack across her back and tucked her arms into the straps.
Out of the blue, Sakura wondered out of pure curiosity, "So, what is your grandmother like?"
"Ah, great question. *he reminisced* When she was young like us, people say she's as sweet as chocolate, don't get mistaken, she still is *snicker*. Also, she told me that some elder friends her age say she fought like a freaking beast back then. Like a chakra monster gave her great power. But what can I say, she is from the Hatsuharu clan so I wouldn't blame her." He bragged a bit.
The young medic just listened, waiting for him to continue.
"Oh so you're interested, ne?" Sosuke smirked receiving a shut-the-fuck-up-glare from Sakura. "Okay gomen. Anyway, her element is different from mine and my grandfather's. She carries water, earth, and somewhat lightning. Her husband was lightning so that's why I say somewhat. My grandfather had full blood from the founder of the Hatsuharu clan ages ago. We still don't know how, it's a mystery that will never be discovered."
"It's weird for me to say, but your clans very interesting." Sakura complimented, "What's your main element? It seems like there's a lot."
Sosuke wondered thoughtfully and found the resolution, "Well in my guess, it's gotta' be Psychic and lightning."
"Psychic, never heard of it... is your grandmother Psychic too?" She asked, desiring more knowledge about his clan.
"Unfortunately no," He notified her, "But on my mother's side, her father is."
Sakura stared at Hatsuharu, "Very confusing," Was all she could say as her expression remained blank.
Sosuke agreed with her opinion, "Indeed it is.. at first, I didn't understand a thing my grandma said," He snickered a bit, "It took me months to fully understand because my mother and father never told...... me." The last of his word was into whisper.
'I get the concept. I'm sorry about that Hatsuharu.' Sakura spoke in her mind.
"Thanks for your concern," He glanced down at her a bit sadly, then back into a happy expression, "We better get moving faster."
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They continued walking calmly through the dirt pathway, and not much conversing with each other, yet. It was a dwelling place, which held no sign of water. The weather was torrid, as the ground cracked through the heat. Unbearably hot as well. 'It's dry... so dry.' Sakura thought to herself.
"It's dry.. isn't it?" Sosuke conveyed.
She merely glanced to the side, "Uhmm, yeah, just what I was thinking." Sakura replied. 'This kid just likes to read my mind, doesn't he?.'
Sosuke almost chuckled, "Yes I do like to read your mind, and I'm not a kid by the way, I'm 20."
Sakura swift her head fully towards him, "You're 20? I thought you were 16 or so."
"I take that offensive," He fake pouted, "At least bump my age 4 years up or something!" Sosuke almost began to protest.
She raised a pink brow, "You kinda look young."
"Heh, yeah right. I'm 5'10, you look about *glances at her height* 5'3." He smirked, "And you're only 18, miss Haruno Sakura."
'What the hell... How does he know my age?' Sakura thought. "So what, 2 years apart and I still look older, get over it." She leveled.
"Maybe its cause you look 18." He continued and kept his smirk, "You think you look older? How so?"
She narrowed her pink brows, now glaring at his handsome face, which reminded her of something. Or someone. And she spoke with more emotion in her voice, not knowing what she'll say, "Because you look like Sas..." 'Eh, shit.'
Sosuke's smirk grew wider and wider, "Because I look like who~...?"
The kunoichi snarled at his blabbering. It pissed her off, because this Sosuke kid reminded her of- "Nothing," She spoke coolly, trying to drop the subject,
"I see a small town near by."
Sakura took a quick glance at him and noticed that he was staring at her.... lips? "Oh, well we're almost at the coordination," Sosuke said as his eyes left her face and focused onto the village that was near by.
"So that's the Pine Village?" Sakura questioned. She gazed over at the place, observing it. The kunoichi noticed that there were a moderate amount of villagers.
Sosuke nodded and continued staring at the village.
Her head turned to the left, facing Sosuke, "So, where are we going to stay?" She inquired.
"You see that old station right there?" Sosuke said while pointing at a direction, "My grandmother works close to that area, and we'll be staying with her."
"Aa, I see." Sakura spoke as they soon entered.
Her eyes flickered from side to side, catching the image of a poor town. Although, there were children running around having a good time, from youthful teens to the adults shopping for groceries, walking around the small food stands. The kunoichi's orbs swift around once more, searching if there were at least any misconception on their faces.
And there was none.....Yet, this small village is poor, very poor.
But the villagers were happy.
They didn't need the money, nor the fame. All they needed was the love and peace.
Sakura clenched her fists into balls, viewing the outlook of this small village... It was all so careless and happy.
The golden eyed shinobi could sense her anger, "Miss Haruno, try and relax a bit, my grandmother is near by." He smiled as he tried to calm her down.
"..Yeah." She sighed with distress. 'So Hatsuharu can really read our feelings too?' Inner questioned.
Sosuke felt uneasy, he wanted to change her mood, "Yes, I thought I already told you, silly."
'Silly?' She slightly glared, "Hm, your cool." Sakura stated with a strong hint of sarcasm, rolling her eyes.
Their was delight heard in his snicker, but felt a bit languid. "I know when I'm going to die," He stated as he glanced at the dirt blankly.
Sakure rose a brow from his bizarre words, "What was that?"
"...Soon." She observed him restricting his peaceful filled orbs from light.
"Your strange, Hatsuharu. Very strange." She implied once more, but didn't believe the Psychic.
Sosuke exposed the golden oculars once again, "What~? I'm telling the truth," He caught on her unthoughtful anticipations, "And thus, I'm only trying to start a decent conversation with you."
'Decent my ass, you're talking about your own damn death.' "Well, don't even try it." A monotone appeared in her voice.
"Whoa, settle down pink pony." He frowned with agony.
*twitch* *twitch*
"Don't say that again otherwise you want a horse up your ass."
"....." No comment.
"Good."
*cricket* *cricket*
They heard a "10 chicken wing fer 5 dolla'! Great dell', great dell' evrayone! Homemad' frum ya' ol' poppeh!" coming from the weird, loudmouthed salesman.
*sigh*
After 5 minutes of pure queer silence from the previous chat, Sosuke glimpsed around the small local markets and realized he needed some supplies to pick up. "Miss Haruno, I forgot to tell you I was going to buy my grandmother some flowers since she loves them, so why not."
Sakura nodded just once in agreement and followed Hatsuharu as the two shinobis entered into the market. Sakura speculated the area, examining its attributes. She could sense that it was somewhat aged and wasn't being considered by the staff too well. Although they did sell flowers, like Hatsuharu had wanted. Her thoughts were being receded, and penetrating the store reminded her of one of the many close acquaintances, Yamanaka Ino.
Sosuke explored around the many different variates of flowers the store held and picked up one of the many.
And looked rotten-like....? *sniff* *sniff*
"Why does this smell bad? Looks bad too." He rudely commented, standing in the expired aisle section.
"Did you not notice, those flowers are to be ceased." Sakura informed the clueless one as she stood next to the fresh, live inflorescence.
He jerked his head towards her, "Oh. Okay, you pick out the flowers then since you're a girl," He stereotyped.
"Whatever. What's her favorite color?" Sakura questioned.
"I'm not sure, I never really asked her, but I guess she likes dark rouge stuff. Maroon, chocolate, brown, black, grey, er...-" He listed as he tapped his head.
The young medic ignored the rest of his babbling and continued to eyeball the variates.
'Remember what the pig spoke of?' Inner reminded.
'What?'
'She taught us how to find the perfect flowers. Number one, color. Two, smell. Three, looks. That's all I recall.'
"Hm..." She thought harder, reaching out into the chapters of her memories.
Flashback
Ino dragged her best friend and rival to her family's flower shop, bickering about something. She demanded and forced Sakura to pick out new flowers for the decorations of her apartment.
The baby blue-eyed medic turned around and smirked at her, "Now, pick your flowers. I'm giving it to you for free! Like a gift. You can thank me later." She rolled her eyes with her hands placed on her hips.
"Ino, I don't want-"
Ino gave her a death glare, wanting her to pick something right here and right now.
*sigh* "Okay, okay." Sakura surrendered.
Her best friend's dirty look turned into a mocking smirk once again, "Good," She continued, "Oh and here's a handy tip I'll give you. *She pulls out one finger from her hand and rose it to a teaching matter* One, color. *another added* Two, smell. *one last added* Three, last but not least, looks."
Sakura just looked blanked and listened uninterestedly.
Ino lectured once more, "The prettiest flower we desperately need is the Cosmos Astrosanguineus, and it's pretty rare too. It's not found in our continent, so it's got to be ported from outside. It smells like the sweet scent of chocolate, I want to give it to Sasuke-kun and Sai-kun!"
End of flashback
'Cosmos Astrosanguineus, eh?'
Sakura looked around, following Ino's advice.... but something caught her eye. The flower that was focused into her beryl orbs were a chocolate/maroon daisy that appealed to her, and like Sosuke had quoted, 'Maroon, chocolate, ....'; the first goal was to have a checkmark. Sakura's petite hands took hold of one of the many in sight. Like Ino had proclaimed, the fragrance had a sweet chocolate scent, and they weren't too overpowering. She layed it back down to the rest of them and gazed at their beauty. The petals had a soft, nice texture and the color contrasted with the dark green stems. To let an overall take place, she thought they were sublime for his grandmother.
Sweet lady.
Sakura took a glimpse over at the still blabbering Sosuke, "-hmm.. her couch is brown, and so is her tables. I think her bed sheet is like, erm... white? I don't know. We'll have to see when we get ther-"
"Excuse me. Here, pay for them. They're beautiful," She handed him a bouquet of chocolate brown cosmos.
"Ah, thanks.. I think she'll like them," He yapped on, snatching the roses from her as he walked casually to the register.
The young kunoichi wondered around the store, killing some time to wait for Sosuke. As she looked to her side, an image was beheld in her oculus and she could not help but travel closer to it. Many photos of crooks were to be posted up on the cork board that was labeled wanted. Many, many criminals were to be hung in the wall of shame, from past to present. D-rank criminals to S-rank criminals, she glanced at the faces once more.
And then she saw an antiquated newsprint...
S-rank criminal, wanted from many countries, raised in Konohagakure, leader of team Taka and associated with Akatsuki, one of the last of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Sasuke.
His face.... Haunted her past... The avenger-
*tap* *tap* *tap*
Sakura felt an annoyance bother her shoulder and knew it was Hatsuharu, "Sakura? Ready to go now?"
"I've been ready." She briefly said as she followed him; going towards the exit.
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Timeskip; Town Hospital
"Hello, I'm here to see Megumi Hatsuharu," Sosuke informed the front desk.
The worker stared up at him, "Oh, it's you Sosuke. Nice to see you again.*glanced at the checkboard* Megumi-sama is in her office at the moment."
"Its good to see you too. And okay~, is there a meeting or somethin'?" He asked with his head tilted a bit.
"Just go in since you're her grandson.*stares at the back of him* Is this young lady with you?"
"Oh her? Sure is." A grin appeared on his face.
"Just to let you know, your two brothers are with her."
Sosuke's face enlightened even more, "Really?! Cool! C'mon Sakura!" He almost raced over to her office.
The group of two strolled through the hallway, only hearing their footsteps walk against the tile that echoed repeatedly. Once they reached a certain point, Sosuke stopped and gripped at the door handle in front of him hearing the familiar sweet voices of his relatives.
*twist* *squueeaak*
The voices stopped and were aware of who barged in. Sakura's eyes hit the tiny elder woman first. A fair completion, pure white short hair, yet seemed very soft. A loose dark brown vintage duster and white strap sandals.
Sakura was in the background, unnoticeable because of Sosuke's height. He wouldn't move out of the way either, most likely of astonishment and reunited mixed together.
She jerked her head to the side, then glanced at the two brown haired boys. They looked about 14 with their young innocent faces-
"SOSUKE!" All shouted at once as the two boys ran up to him except the grandmother, all she could do was stare and smile with joy.
"Hey Tenshi! Toriyano!" Sakura could tell Sosuke was beyond thrilled to see his family again... Maybe it's been a year or so since they last seen him..? She just took note of his actions. He was a sympathetic boy, joked around and can be irritating at times, but was never disrespectful to others. Sakura somehow felt very comfortable around him, she wanted to open up to him, tell him the kind of things that most would know, cause they don't even show an interest to hear her out. It was like a blessing; prayer. It almost made her wonder what it would feel like if she returned...
"Hey fool, *taps Sosuke* who's that girl with the pink hair?" Tenshi kept his eyes on her while waiting for Sosuke to fess up.
Hatsuharu scratched his head, "Okay, her name is Haruno Sakura. To put it even shorter, an acquaintance of mine I picked up along my journey," He explained.
"Acquaintance eh? Looks more like a girlfriend if you ask me," Toriyano joked and chuckled quite loudly.
Sosuke laughed a bit, "Alright, no need to embarrass miss Haruno."
'Ew no.' Inner spoke jokingly.
"I heard that." Sosuke whispered; only enough for Sakura to hear and felt the blue teardrop on his head. "Oh and Obaasan, I bought you these flowers and Sakura picked them out," Sosuke said while handing her the neat bouquet of inflorescence.
"Wow, these are lovely," Megumi complimented them and took a sniff, "And the smell is wonderful too. Miss Haruno, could you tell me the name of these if you can recall?" She questioned as she gazed down at them.
"Cosmos Astrosanguinues," Sakura politely stated, "And you don't have to address me so formally, so please, call me Sakura."
"Ah, I see." She nodded her head once, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura."
The kunoichi gave a sweet smile, "You too."
'This Haruno Sakura, she reminds me of myself as a young child.' Megumi thought. "Would you like something eat? You're awfully thin." The elder woman spoke, eying Sakura with concern.
Sosuke could get the impression of Sakura feeling a bit embarrassed, "Actually, Sakura and I already have food sitting in our stomach, so we'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" She gave one last offer.
"Positive." Sosuke nodded and crossed his arms to his chest, "Anyway, is it your break time right now Obaasan?"
Megumi nodded, "Yes indeed. And great timing especially since you came along. You have been sincerely missed by us, Sosuke."
The golden-eyed Psychic grinned at his sweet grandmother's words. The kunoichi just stood there next to Sosuke, not knowing what to do. She felt Toriyano and Tenshi's eyes on her; which made her very uncomfortable...
"Uh... So Tenshi, Toriyano. What have you guys been up to since I left?" Sosuke said as he broke their stares from Sakura.
"Nothing much, just been attending the academy, chillin'." Tenshi answered easily, no thought required.
Toriyano rolled his eyes at his brother, "Same here."
"Heh, I don't have to go the academy. I graduated." Sosuke teased.
"Yeah right, more like dropped out." They chuckled together, causing to receive a dirty glare from the victim, "Sosuke, where'd you like to settle your bags at?" Toriyano inquired.
"Obaasans'."
Before Toriyano could reply, Magumi decided to speak first, "I rarely visit that place anymore. I stay with your mother and father."
"Oh, that's a surprise, I guess at your guys' stay," Sosuke shrugged, but settled his hand over the handle of his bag.
Tenshi slapped his hand from letting him grip any farther, "Ah, ah, ah! Since it's been a long time, I'll take it down for you."
"Excuse me, everyone," the grandmother began to speak once more, "But I would like to have a word with Sosuke alone, I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all," Toriyano spoke for all three, "Should we wait outside?" He pondered for a command.
"Actually, I was planning to go to the gardens, so please excuse us two," Megumi softly spoke as she arose from her office chair and left her workstation. Grasping the door handle, she held it open for Sosuke to step outside. Megumi gave one last smile for the group of three and gently layed the door back in place.
Finally, both were outside, walking to the garden nearby ahead.
*birds chirped*
"She's a beautiful girl, Sosuke." Megumi spoke up from the lack of conversing, "Kind as well."
He merely jerked his head, "Yeah, shes a cutie alright."
Megumi sighed out of anxiety, "Let's get straight to the point. I know your destiny was to stay at the fire country, but what was your whole point of it?"
The golden eyed shinobi was almost startled, yet willing to answer, "Obaasan, I thought I already explained to you before I left 7 months ago. I'm doing this for the good, remember?"
His grandmother gazed down at the color-filled, lifeless sunflower and said nothing.
*sigh* "I wanted to wait there for as long as I can. My mind felt a strong force taking many men from countless villages. An evil, wants to take over the fire country, and soon, dominating everything. I am for the goodness of this world, prepared to take down all evil."
She kept silent, waiting for her grandson to continue.
"I thought I could stay for life, but then I felt a strong sadness coming my way. And it was Sakura. She was..... somewhat depressed and lonely from where she came from. So, I couldn't help but take her back to this village and I wanted to do something about her life. She was miserable at its best. But I want to make her see past her misery." Sosuke's announcement came within his heart, "Shes more then just an amazing girl, but shes just to broken and messed up inside."
Megumi was clearly shocked, then again she understood everything he said, "So you gave up waiting for the evil just for her?"
He nodded without hesitation, "Why yes. Yes I did."
She raised a small eyebrow and beamed, keeping her voice calm, "You're just like your father."
Sosuke narrowed his brows, his attention fully interested, "What? How?"
"Before he died, he was out to save another country. But then he met your mother along his journey and fell head over heels for her. He wanted to protect her, keep her safe from any harm." She described a small summary.
"....How did he...?"
"He fought for her. Believe it or not, your mother was a wanted criminal."
*shocked* "...What?"
Megumi took a deep breathe, "She ran away from her own village because she felt hated, hurt. She took the blame all out on others. Her hatred caused her to murder innocent villagers."
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Back in Konohagakure; 9:43 A.M.
(Fire Country, 2 days ahead of Wood Country)
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Uchiha Sasuke awoke, only to find his lungs empty.
He arose from his bed, resting his arms on his lap. Silence hung through the dead air, as the room held nothing, and accepted its quietness. Suddenly, he clutched the dark fabric with anger from a previous dream, interrupting the silence. The visions of the dark night, dreaming of felicity and joy, departed into the life and light, separating closed lids from bottom lashes and raveling thoughts to the reality.
Left him to imagine with a bliss at no cost, for when he blinked, he received in no lost.
And a certain thought lead him to wonder if...
She really did hate him....?
Silence.
*birds chirped happily from outside*
Sasuke relaxed his tensed grip as he fell back into the habit of thinking. His eyes darkened into its natural state, as his nose felt like he could still smell her youthful sweet scent, ravishing all over him. Her soft hands, caressing his cold skin, and her lips.... soft plumped lips, pressing against his. Confiding him of resting assure, she loves him.
Although, it felt real. Too real. Or too good to be true.
He tried to ignore the negative, for he only thought the positive... pleasure.
Something strange was building inside of him, he felt so hopeless and weak. Yet, it felt as if he was somehow ........lovestruck...? Sasuke slightly shook his head from the ideal thought that jammed into his mind...But he wanted to recall the ecstasy of a dream all to himself.
He held her close, not wanting to let go. Her presence was all he needed at this moment. Her full weight on him as they laid amongst the piercing grass throughout the sentimental star-filled night. Her soft breasts, pressing against his chest. Her creamy, toned, long legs dominated on top of his. The tips of her short pink hair, tickling his cheekbone. The tip of their noses, touching slightly. Both lips.... teasing each other. Waiting for a sudden movement. Until she lost control... She crashed her lips on his, fulfilling both of their cravings. The humid feel of a soft affection towards each other, thrilling and sincere. Tilting heads from side to side, wet tongues rubbing against the insides of both mouths as the exchange of warm saliva pleasured the actions more than expected. He melted inside her, enjoying every moment of the bliss.
But then...
He couldn't feel a thing right after another passionate humid pleasure.
He couldn't feel anything.
His body had already awoken from the fantasy.
It was haunting, like an illusion of-
"Sasuke-teme!" A familiar voice rang through his window.
The Uchiha almost jumped, from the interruption. He merely jerked his head towards the window, giving it a harsh glare.
Naruto pounded his window, trying to wake the bastard up, "Hey! Wake up- huh?" He stopped his protest once he saw his best friend's facial expression through the glass window.
Uchiha Sasuke looked like he was ready for a kill mode. And Uzumaki Naruto seemed like the victim.
"Uh...Sasuke-teme?" Naruto almost whispered as he nearly flinched, "Open the door...Please..?"
Sasuke kept the dirty look on his face as he remained silent for a few seconds. He then severely walked away from the awkward moment, heading towards the front door.
Naruto was disposed in his position for a second. He blinked and blinked, eyes wondering around back and forth amongst the window. 'What the hell is up with this bastard lately? It's like hes possessed or something!'
The dobe marched through the front porch, stepping through the dead grass. As he reached to the bastard's front door, he twisted the door knob.
He stomped inside without much care, "Oi, Sasuk-"
"What do you want," Sasuke was found on the back porch hunched over, gazing at the small water fountain, "If you want to spar, later."
Naruto narrowed his blond brows, for he made a slight snarl, "I didn't come to ask you to spar or hang out," Hes voice had struck a different tone, the tone of a serious matter, "We need to talk, now."
The lone Uchiha didn't find it surprising as his deep, dark eyes remained lost in the water, ".....About what."
"About why your acting weird as hell," Naruto announced while he swiftly walked to join his best friend, "Tell me Sasuke, you've been so strange the past 4 or 5 days. Whats bothering you?"
"Nothing." Lie
"Yeah, like I'll ever buy that," He barely chuckled as he gazed at the lifeless water fountain, "Is it about...her, by any chance?"
Sasuke's eyes focused onto the fountain, not wanting any eye-contact, "Whom are you speaking of?"
"You know," Naruto now stared down at the ground, thinking her name was taboo, forbidden, "You know... the.. left. And um.. one of our teammates.. of team 7." Naruto could barely say her name, it hurt for him to even think about her.
Pause.
"No. She's not the reason why I'm upset." That there was denial.
"Okay, so you are upset?" Naruto asked, thinking some information was spilled out.
"No. That's not what I meant." Sasuke said without even thinking.
Naruto paused, then spoke, "Then what did you mean?"
No answer.
The blond turned his head to the left, checking Sasuke's expression. Emotionless. "Sasuke, look at me." He turned his head, glaring at Naruto.
"Sasuke, what's bothering you.. making you upset?" Naruto now got serious, his face expression was like a stone wall, blank.. empty.
"Hn."
"Is it because of her?" Naruto continued before Sasuke could 'Hn.' again, "Really, it wasn't too long ago she left. A week has already passed."
Sasuke remained silent. He wanted to hear more of Naruto's blabbering.
"I know most of us are hurt and depressed that she gone and never coming back. You don't have to keep denying it. You don't have to be in denial for every question I ask." Naruto continued, "You're hurt Sasuke, you're hurt because she abandoned this village, she's not here. It's written in bright red all over your face."
"....Now you're blabbering is pissing me off."
"It's true, ne' Sasuke-teme?" Naruto gave a small grin of satisfaction of knowing the cause of his pain.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, for he wanted to be in rejection about his small affection towards her. Small. Very small, but will it grow...? His thoughts were now pissing him off, he shook his head enough to catch Naruto's attention.
The dobe got the wrong idea, from assuming he was disagreeing with him, "What do you mean? You don't agree?!" Naruto's pity dropped into the flames of madness.
The Uchiha couldn't speak. He wanted to deny it, everything.
"You disagree even if its the truth," Naruto spat out as he stood up, "There's a mission for us. Meet me at the hokages office."
"....When."
"Now," The dobe spoke rapidly. He didn't want to be near Sasuke's presence at the moment, or else, a smack down is gonna happen. So he simply walked away from the tension his best friend created.
-
Timeskip; Godaime's door
Sasuke was last to arrive at her office. Usually, he'd be on time, although his mind was going through a battle.
"Hey Sasuke-kun~!" Two girl voices exclaimed once he entered the office. Sasuke glanced around, emotionless mask as usual. Giving a small glare at his best friend as he stood there frowning at the young ladys.
"No Sasuke-kun is going to pair up with me!"
"Like that'll ever happen." The blond beauty winked, "Sasuke-kun likes me better."
The Uchiha lightly narrowed his eyebrows at that damn suffix 'kun'. It reminded him of-
"Shut up! My kami, you two are so annoying!" Tsunade yelled with frustration as she banged her fists on the wooden desk, causing papers to fly around, "Ino, you know better!"
Ino felt damn right guilty, she knew she was more matured than this, "Hai, hai. Gomen Hokage-sama," She apologized as she felt a smirk of satisfaction coming from the red haired kunoichi.
"Alright. Now everything is settled, lets get down to business." Tsunade commanded, "Uzumaki Naruto, you and Uchiha Sasuke will take lead in this mission."
Nodded.
"Yamanaka Ino and Karin, *glances over at Ino* you will be the medic of this team, and Karin, you will be the one who tracks down the suspect." The blond Hokage explained flawlessly, "You will have to travel north from here until you reach a small foreign location called Hidden Moon Village, you know, near the Valley of the End. The victim is located around that area, his name his Osamu Shingo. Karin will track him down, while Naruto and Sasuke will be the ones who obliterate him and his possible gang. Protect the innocent villagers if something gets out of hand."
All understood.
"Baachan, for what reason do we have to take him out?" Naruto questioned and couldn't help but wonder, "And why does Karin and Ino have to come?"
Both kunoichi glared at the idiot.
*sigh* "I thought I already explained. Shingo and his group murdered, torched, raped many women, and kidnapped the men. From what I heard they are collecting males from teenagers to fully grown adults. Keep it note, they have already, collected many from other villages, but they are not unstoppable," She gave a careless look, "Kakashi and Sai are dealing with ANBU, so as of right now, Karin is an excellent choice for this mission because of the chakra senses. Ino as well because she will be this missions fill-in medic of team 7."
Silence...
"This mission starts this after noon around 6:30. You four will work together on this C-rank mission. Understood?" Tsunade broke the silence and informed.
"Hai."
-
Timeskip; 8 hours later
The blond Hokage waited near the main gates for the group of four. As minutes past by, she squinted her milk chocolate eyes while she saw three figurines approaching her way. It wasn't hard to figure out who the visible shapes belonged to as the lights of Konoha hit their outlines. Naruto, Karin, and Ino.
"Hey baachan," Naruto called while he grinned at her. He searched around looking for the last missing team member, "Where's Sasuke-teme?"
"I thought he was with you three," Tsunade shrugged, "He better hurry the hell up. Before he fails this mission for all of you-"
"I'm right here." Sasuke coolly cut her off as he stepped aside the dark shadows.
Karin and Ino's faces lit up when their eyes hit his handsome face, "Sasuke-kun, you were here all this time?" Karin asked with a miraculous-like tone.
"...Hn."
Naruto seemed quite annoyed from his 'Mr. Cool' introduction, "Alright, can we get this going?" He grunted, feeling aggravated.
"Hm, I agree with you for once, Uzumaki," Tsunade joked and smirked to herself, she could feel Naruto glaring at her, "Report back as soon as possible."
"Hai!" The group shouted in response, minus Sasuke.
-
The group of four marched north, just like Tsunade advised. They all stayed close to each other, of course, the young men were going to take the lead of the journey while the girls watched their backs. The weather seemed a bit chilly, but moist. Fresh air blew the skins at its max, causing small shivers to appear on the faces, minus an Uchiha, again. Sun was setting at last, as the skies color hit purple, pink, and orange. So beautiful...
Only the strong but calming wind and fading footsteps could be heard. It was quiet, too quiet. Maybe a little chatting wouldn't hurt, would it?
*chirp*
*trees roared*
Sweet Mother Nature...
Karin's ruby eyeball glanced around the nature, from viewing the earthly green plants, to the flow of the butterflies submerging to the wind. She was feeling a bit disgusted by the looks of it, "Ew."
"What?" The blond kunoichi wondered out of curiosity as she merely turned her head to the female.
"Nothing, the peaceful nature just bothers the hell out of me," She pushed her glasses up to her bridge.
Ino rose a blond brow, "Hm? Whys that? I find it beautiful," Her baby blue orbs transferred her gaze to the forest.
"Then you have bad taste." Karin spat out, although her voice wasn't harsh, it was more like a mocking tone.
"Bad taste, eh?" The beauty frowned, "Then your saying Sasuke-kun is ugly?!" She nearly shouted, starring at the all mighty Sasuke who he and Naruto happen to be listening to the conversation from ahead.
Karin's eyes widened, "NO NO NO NO! That's not what I meant, pig!" The redhead continued as she crossed her arms to her plump chest, "What I meant was, that I find this *her eyes peered around the forest* terrible!"
"You're one weird girl, Karin," Ino grunted at her, "Why the hell does this bother you so much?"
"Be...Because!" She stuttered, trying to find the right words, "Well...Because..!"
"Well? Because~?" Ino smirked, and felt a bit satisfied, claiming she'd won the debate.
Karin snarled, annoyed by her female teammate, "Because it reminds me of Sakura!" She hissed.
Oh hell no.
Taboo.
Naruto almost jumped from what Karin said. Also, he could have sworn he felt Sasuke nearly wince at her name too. Better yet, he and the Uchiha felt the slight urge to listen more, to see where the conversation would lead too.
Ino then dropped her smirk, which transformed into a huge frown, "Why does it remind you of.... her?"
Karin's brain tried to brew a reason, "Cause, its all earthy and full of nature!"
'That didn't make sense.' "O-okay....?"
For some reason, Karin strongly disliked the Haruno. Would it be cool if she'd talk about her? Just a little?
The red haired kunoichi kept her dirty facial expression, "You know what? I take that back, probably deep down inside shes a hated loner and a fuck up who wants to catch attention, so she left our village."
What the fuck is Karin thinking?!
It was absurd!
Naruto froze from his pace and swiftly jerked his head to the back to face her, blue eyes seemed angry, very angry, "Hey, don't talk bad about Sakura-chan, Karin. You don't know anything about her life." His tone was hard, most likely offended by Karin's comment.
Ino was absolutely shocked by Naruto's actions. But yet, she was indignant as well, "Yeah. Who the hell do you think you are talking about forehead girl like that?! My closest friend?!" She yelled with no doubt or regret to her words.
"Well, I have some dirt on that bitch so you can suck my opinion, wither you like it or not!" Karin fumed furiously as she fought back on the dialog, "And yes I do know much about her! She's just a...a depressed loser who wants S-"
"Karin. Stop talking, now."
A command was to be overpowered.
The infuriated teammates jerked their heads at the quiet raven haired shinobi as his back was facing them. His fists were clenched and unclenched, the ice cold mask appearing before his face, although his teammates couldn't see.
It was rare for Naruto and Ino to see Sasuke takes sides...? But all did not want to hear the ruby-eyed shinobi rant unworthy opinions about Haruno.
"...F-fine! Whatever." Karin snorted sheepishly as the outrageous conversation found an end.
*caw* *caw*
*cricket* *cricket*
The faded footsteps were to be heard once again, although anger filled up the expressions. They moved faster and quicker, just to get the mission over with already. Sasuke lead in the front, almost flying past the trees. Naruto tried to catch up with his pace, but knew he should be more careful of not slipping. Ino and Karin on the other hand were almost falling behind, and could only keep up with each other.
"Sasuke, slow down," Naruto authorized his best friend.
"Hn, hurry up. You all are slow." Sasuke rudely disobeyed the dobe and swiftly glided across each broad, durable branch.
"You're a bastard!" He growled loudly enough for the thick wind, "What about the other two?!"
Sasuke fully ignored his comrade and the rest of his teammates, for he went to his maximum speed as if he traveled individually.
"Fine! Be the bastard you already are! I'm staying with them, and you can get lost for all I care.. ASSHOLE!" Naruto was now fully behind but then again, fully enraged.
'ASSHOLE! *echo* *echo* *echo*' His words somewhat PISSED Sasuke off even more, so the smartass Uchiha decided to give a glare back at Naruto, but in exchange...
When he turned his head 360 degrees behind, his raven black locks floated in his view, causing his 20/20 vision to be cut in half. A bird in the almost-dusk sky came across his eyesight.... The inside color was fully white, with the small hint of light pink and a visible shade of green.... (A/N: If you want to know what he saw, it was a Jambu Fruit Dove =])
Wait... what the hell?!
*BAM!*
The great all mighty Uchiha Sasuke fell because of a bird. Really, Sasuke? Tsk. Shame on you.
Naruto's eyes gaped wide open, from astonishment to assuming there was an ambush, "TEME!"
He jumped down below, along with the two worried females. "Sasuke! What the hell happened?!" He shouted from afar.
Sasuke just gave his cold shoulder like usual and planned to ditch them.... embarrassed much?
"You're not going anywhere this tim-" Naruto stopped racing to him, then noticed the Uchiha figure was nowhere in sight. 'What a fucking dick.'
-
A lone Uchiha arrived by himself and inspected the village. Small, and looked like the villagers were shady. What do you expect? It is called the Hidden Moon Village. He noticed the atmosphere wasn't content, a perfect place for criminals to stay under the rooftops. Sasuke wondered around, tracing the gang's whereabouts...... found nothing, pretty much just waiting for the rest of his slowpoke teammates.
About fifteen minutes of waiting impatiently, the shapes of a male and two females appeared from the lifeless light from away. Yet he watched them out of curiosity, wondering what they'd do.
"Okay, it seems decent and safe around the core of Hidden Moon, so you guys can stay there. You two handle yourselves, right?" Naruto informed, worrying about their safety.
"Hm, we ain't weaklings, baka." Ino frowned slightly, "But why do we have to stay here? We should just work together."
The dobe second thought, but made up his mind, "We'll work together as soon as I find that bastard Uchiha," He snarled at the thought and spoke again, "Karin, do you think you can track him down?"
The redhead accepted his request, "Hes... well I'm not familiar with this place, but I know he's to the south from here."
Naruto nodded, "Yoshi, thanks." He walked off, the opposite direction from what Karin then thought. Uh-oh
"Great, what do we do now!" Karin complained to Ino.
The blond rolled her eyes, "How the hell am I suppose to know?"
The two continued bickering on as the clock was about to strike midnight. It was about time for the Uchiha to step in. He swiftly walked over to them as they didn't notice he was behind, "You two stay quiet."
Ino and Karin jumped from the familiar harsh toned voice, "Sasuke-kun..!" Both whispered, although it was clearly filled with happiness.
He glared, waiting for the dead air to take over them, which did. "You guys stay here and don't move. Don't ask any questions either."
They signaled in approval. Sasuke assented back and walked away to a dark corner.
Approximately 10 minutes later, three raggedy-looking men appeared before their sight, giving them shivers from the yuckyness.
"Aye' Ping, Pong! Take a look at what your ol' daddy Padle found! Those fine~ women standing there! Damn, check out the size of the blonde's tits! Double D's I think! And get a load of the redhead's 45 inch hips with those son of a gun legs!" Drunk, drunk, drunk. And violent, stupid men.
"Shit shit shit! Ino! What do we do?!" Karin whispered to her comrade's ear.
Ino glances back at her and does her famous wink, "Don't be a pussy. We are shinobis! We got this in the bag. And you know what? I'll be glad to defend you because Sasuke-kun is watching me!" She boosted herself high.
The two young ladies shifted their heads towards the nasty men; slipping their hands into their pouches, prepared for a showdown.
Out of the blue, Ino and Karin heard a strange slicing noise and searched around for the founder of it. They saw everything in a shadowed landscape, but everyone except two figures stood, standing next to the bodies being laid on the floor. Sasuke stood behind the leader of the three, facing the opposite side of his back.
Padle saw strands of hair falling to the floor, dark brown strands, brown pieces like his. He turned around but his movement was traceable to Sasuke, as he was already pinned up against the brick wall beside the two. Uchiha's hand gripped his neck harder, choking the life out of him.
"Where is Shingo." Sasuke coldly questioned, sounding more like a demand instead of a query.
"I ain't telling you!" Padle refused and rejected his interrogation.
The cruel shinobi embraced his neck stronger than the last time, watching the man turn a faint purple.
"C-can-n't bre-eathe," He barely choked out of his mouth.
He loosened his grip, but was still firm. The shinobi stood there waiting for the victim's reply. But no answer was spat out.
Sasuke growled from the lack of patience and almost smashed his neck against the wall. 'But I can't kill him just yet.' He remembered, thinking of his actions.
The Uchiha released his hand and let the lavender-colored man take a breathe.
"Why should *pant* I *pant* tell, you *pant* huh?" Padle choked out.
"Look, answer my question and you won't be sorry." Sasuke frowned harder and squeezed the poor man's throat once more.
"NO! I ain't scared a-you!" His victim dare hissed at him, unaware it was Uchiha Sasuke.
The bastard sighed, "Sharigan!" He closed his eyes, activating his red and black power he held within him. As he opened his orbs, the eyes of a distinct clan was revealed.
Padle's eyes widened as he found himself drown in a pool of fear, "HOLY SHIT! HELP! HEL-"
Before he could scream once more, he felt a blade slightly already toying with his neck, slicing a small amount of skin off.
He felt his blood spilling down him, staining his shirt immensely, "Please sir! P-please, calm down!" Padle himself tried to settle the raging Uchiha.
Sasuke's frown disappeared and his face expression became stone, "You're going to talk."
"Okay okay! What's your question!" He quickly asked, fearful of this dangerous Uchiha.
The cold hearted shinobi spoke, "Give me Shingo's location."
The hostage gulped, "I don't know! Honestly!" Although Sasuke pinched his neck harder, "But he said he was coming here at 1:00 AM... here, today.." Sasuke heard him whisper.
"I can't hear you. What was that?" Sasuke cruely spoke as his bare hands pressed his neck to the wall at his hardest, straining him.
"1:00 AM!" Padle shouted, mostly because of the pain and spat out blood.
*slice* *slice* *slice*
*clink*
Uchiha Sasuke strolled slowly out of the alley, heading his two teammates' way. In the background, Ino and Karin couldn't believe what they witnessed.
Flashback
The katana sliced the man in half, half and half bodies falling opposite directions, off the the ground. As one of the two figures approached the two, they saw his face. Blank, expressionless, stained with blood that dripped down from his cheekbone, to his neck, down to his masculine chest. He was like a stranger to them, a Sasuke that wasn't from Konoha.
End of Flashback
"Sa-" Karin was cut off, for he had turned away to the right of them, walking off alone once again.
The two females stared at each other and each face was in horror, "What the hell happened?!"
-
Timeskip; 1:00 A.M. in the alley
Sasuke glanced around, noticing the clock struck one hour after midnight. He awaited for them, muted with the dead air, prospected for the least bit of alteration that was to be sensed. The Uchiha had remained there for an estimation of ten minutes by now, but ten minutes seemed parallel to one day for him... and one day was too long.. and the Uchiha was getting precisely impatient. Abruptly,the shinobi could detect footsteps of twenty-two feet, prancing about.
'Shingo. He has ten fools with him.' The cruel shinobi examined.
The Uchiha headed on out, towards the gang and wanted to settle this mission once and for all.
"Aye! Who's that punk right there?!" Shingo, the leader of the gang inquired.
Sasuke kept a pokerface from a far distance, planning to charge without a flaw. The Uchiha grasped onto the rough handle of his sharp, sleek katana kept to his back. He withdrawal his sword and lashed it against the many members without trouble in his performance. As his katana was put back in place, one by one, they fell, fell to the floor like the previous gang members did. Once again, there was one person remaining, it was Shingo.
Shingo stood in fear as if he had just witnessed his own death, for he had somehow fallen to his knees because his fright took over his whole world, begging for mercy, "HEEELLPP! PLEASE SOMEON-"
"Mangekyou Sharigan," Sasuke calmly surpressed his vision from his orbs, triggering his favorite technique once again. Instead of his beautiful, black pearl orbs, they were changed into a red and black fusion color once more.
*screaming was to be heard*
And he enjoyed every moment of torching him.
Maybe Uchiha Sasuke was just in a bad mood.....what reason?
......
-
Both Ino and Karin stared at Sasuke with disbelief. The former team member of Taka remembered watching Sasuke, when he and Danzo were battling. He was less harsher then, but she's never seen the Uchiha act far more colder since now.
Ino on the other hand, had her mind retracing the past thoughts. 'This..... is the similar Sasuke-k-kun.. in the Forest of Death.' Her thoughts recollected every piece... 'Whats wrong with him....now..?'
"S-S-Sasuke-ku-n.." Ino was uncertain to say, having the urge to get up and embrace her arms around him just like- "Please... Stop..!"
He didn't. Nor did he pay attention to her.
Ino clenched her jaw in anger. For she only knew one person that could stop the monster he became.
(A/N: I was so close to 10,000 words T_T Anyway, Sasuke has some anger management issues! I bet he wants to crawl back into his nice comfy bed and dream about Sakura more hahahahaha! But yeah, we got to see a little bit of Sosuke's story. And Sakura feels like she's known him for a while now (:
But keep in thought, this is a SASUSAKU and I have a good ending in mind..... :D
The next chapter will start up with the mission and Sakura's part, training. I hope I didn't give out to much.
A special thank you to my reviews, you know who you are :) Once again, I LOVE the feedback you give me, so please review! I'd like to see more in this chapter. (:
Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas to you all and soon to be happy New Year! xD)
-MasterCleanse ^-^