Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Daisuki ❯ I'll Catch You ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DisturbedUsagi 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance / Angst / Shoujo | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.14.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 222 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance / Angst / Shoujo | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.14.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 222 | Status: Work In Progress
Author’s Notes// Here we are at the ninth chapter! I’m surprised I’ve made it this far without giving up…but it’s probably because my readers and reviewers are so amazing! Arlesace, you must know me better than myself to be guessing all these plot possibilities…but I’ll never tell! I love pink marshmallows by the way…
Disclaimer: lol wut?
~~~~~~
All the time, darling now, oh
All the time, now we’ll have to make it up
We’ll make it up, oh
All the days, darling now, oh
All the days, now we’ll have to make them up
We’ll make them up somehow
We’ll make them up…
~~~~~~
Daisuki; Chapter 9
I’ll Catch You
“You still love me, don’t you Sakura?”
His onyx eyes were digging deep into her soul, tugging on her heartstrings and making her head hurt.
“I know you do.”
She could feel his breath on her neck, those slender fingers slipping beneath her shirt to grip her soft hips. Sakura squirmed against his touch, uncomfortable with the position she was trapped in. This wasn’t the boy she remembered, not even close. Before she knew it she was crying; the Uchiha oblivious even as her hands tried to push him away.
“Sasuke, please, I’m begging you…”
“SAKURA!”
The kunoichi shot up from her mattress, beads of sweat clinging to her temples as she panted, dizzy from the realization that it had only been a terrible dream. The sheets were twisted around her legs, pillows strewn about the floor below her. Sakura swallowed hard and looked to her balcony window, a clear, early morning sky greeting her, still purple and dotted with stars.
“Sakura, open the door!”
Her eyes darted to the hallway that led away from her room, confused as to why someone was asking entrance to her home at – she quickly checked the bedside clock – 4:51 in the morning. The pounding continued and she grumbled her disapproval, throwing the sheets from her body and practically stomping to the door.
“What could you possibly want at this time of the night!?” She growled as the door swung open.
The sight of a disheveled Ino in her pajamas and robe did nothing to help her confusion, but she managed to control the expression revealing itself on her face somewhat.
“Ino…what’s going on...?”
“I overheard a group of shinobi running past my home – don’t ask me why I was up I’ll tell you later – and I heard them say something about an anonymous scroll coming into the village. Something’s happened with Shikamaru’s group.” The blonde panted.
The pink-haired girl parted her lips to respond but found she had no words to fill the reply. Shikamaru’s group. Naruto, Kiba…Lee. Oh God, Lee…
“Now’s not the time for day dreaming Sakura!” Ino hissed, pushing past her friend to grab the nearest coat she could find and throwing it over the other. “We have to get to the Hokage’s office!”
She clapped her hand into Sakura’s, pulling her from the apartment and into the street. They fell into a rhythm as they ran hand-in-hand, doused in orange from the overhead streetlamps every few feet. Early bird shopkeepers watched them with puzzled expressions as they sprinted past the market stalls; two girls running down the street in sleepwear was an odd sight to behold. Tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, willing away the tears.
“Be strong, Sakura!” Ino’s voice interrupted her worried thoughts, eyes opening to find her friend staring back at her. The blonde’s green eyes narrowed, “You’re a shinobi, so start acting like it!”
The steps up to the Hokage’s office seemed endless, but as they neared their destination their pace slowed, mostly from the fear that they would be heard by the meeting already in session. Shuffling down the hallway as quietly as humanly possible, the closed office door came into view, urgent, hushed voices talking quickly.
“And we’re supposed to just trust some anonymous scroll from a cloaked bunshin? It’s obviously a trap!”
That voice was definitely Gai, Sakura could indentify it from a mile away.
“Don’t try and make it into what you want it to be, Gai.”
Kakashi was there too…
“Is that a challenge!?”
Oh Lord, couldn’t they stop fighting for one second…
“Enough.” This time it was Tsunade, grumpy she had been pulled from her bed when she had only fallen asleep an hour before. She waved away the tea Shizune was moving to set on her desk; instead she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the hard wood, intertwining her fingers in a contemplative pose. “Whether it is a trap or not, we cannot risk the chance of losing two good shinobi if it isn’t. Kakashi, send word to Yugao to form a cell of her choice as quickly as possible; Shizune, you will be going with her team for medical purposes only.”
“Yes, Hokage sama…” The brunette responded with a quick bow of her head.
“Now, let’s break up this party so I can get some rest. I don’t have time to argue about…”
“Hokage sama.” The scarecrow straightened his posture, gaze drifting towards the door; Sakura’s hair prickled on the back of her neck.
The two girls looked to the other end of the hallway, approaching footsteps coming quickly. It was too late to hide now. Shikamaru came around the corner, immediately halting when he saw both pairs of green eyes staring at him. He sighed, ignoring the kunoichi and rapping his knuckles against the office door.
“Come in.”
The door opened and shut and the two girls let out the breath they had been holding.
“Shikamaru.” The blonde Hokage hid her surprise, crossing one leg over the other in her chair. She waited for him to speak while the entire room shifted uneasily.
“I came as fast as I could, Hokage Sama,” He began, “I’m alone because Kiba and Lee have been severely wounded and Naruto and I are unable to move them in their current condition. I left Naruto to care for the two and departed on my own.”
Tsunade regarded the Nara boy in a pregnant pause, index finger stroking her cheek while her palm cradled her chin.
“Cancel the last request.” She began suddenly, “Inform Yugao she will only need one comrade from her normal cell. Shizune and Shikamaru will accompany the two back to where Naruto, Lee, and Kiba are waiting.” Her eyes flicked back to Shikamaru. “Would there be chance of a second attack?”
His response barely took a second, “I don’t believe a second attack would occur. The first seemed to be…a warning.”
“Hmmm,” the Godaime shifted in her seat again then nodded in agreement. “It’s settled then. All of you are dismissed.”
One by one the various shinobi disappeared from the room, Gai lagging behind with Kakashi.
“I see that smug look on your face, Kakashi! Don’t think just because my Lee was wounded and Naruto came out unscathed that you’ve won!”
“Won? Won what?” He responded nonchalantly.
“Kakashiiii!” Gai shook his fists at the copy-nin, “Don’t try and confuse me, I know what you’re up to!”
“Sakura, what are you…” Ino was startled when Sakura shot up from their kneeling spot next to the door, unable to pull her back before the kunoichi burst into the office unannounced.
“Tsunade sama, allow me to go as well!”
The blonde slapped her hand over her face, groaning at her friend’s forwardness. The female member of the legendary sannin regarded her late apprentice with indifference, Shizune casting a panicked look between the two.
“No.” She replied simply.
The latter recoiled as if she had been slapped in the face. “What do you mean, ‘no’!? I have every right to accompany Shizune and the others! I’m a medical ninja too! A damn good one!”
At this point Gai and Kakashi had silenced their argument to make a hurried exit from the room; there was no way they intended to stay for that showdown. Tsunade leaned back into her chair with a sigh, brushing away the nonexistent lint from her knee.
“A good medical ninja does not abandon their studies…”
“But…” Sakura interjected and her teacher continued.
“A good medical ninja does not allow emotions to get in the way…”
“Tsunade sama…”
“And a good medical ninja certainly does not eavesdrop on confidential meetings and then burst in and demand positions on missions they not only don’t deserve but are not prepared for!”
The kunoichi recoiled again, but remained determined to change the blonde’s mind.
“I can do this, Tsunade sama. I know I can…”
“And this is coming from the girl who has neglected any sort of study or training for months. The village would think me a fool to send you out on this mission. The answer is no, Sakura, and that answer is final.”
Tsunade pushed away from her desk as she stood up, Shizune clearing a path for the blonde as she walked past both her and the younger kunoichi. Sakura clenched her fists, restraining from screaming in frustration. The departing Hokage paused in the doorway to interrupt the latter’s angered thoughts.
“I suggest you go home and dust off your hospital uniform. You’ll be reporting to the Emergency Unit in an hour.” She cast a look over her shoulder, glad to find Sakura was paying attention. “Don’t be late.”
Shizune remained silent until Tsunade was finally out of earshot, approaching the solemn Sakura with an empathetic sadness. She placed her hand gently on the girl’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll do my best to take care of them, Sakura san. You should do your best at the hospital until we return.”
The fingers drifted from her shoulder as Shizune departed from the room, leaving the younger girl to her conflicted thoughts.
“You’ve got some guts, Sakura.”
Ino shuffled into the room in a sheepish state that was unlike her, keeping her distance from her pink-haired friend and staying close to the door. Sakura turned around to face her, moisture already lining her dark lashes.
“I have to do my best until they come back; for Lee.” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled from lack of anything else to say; at her strongest moment she looked completely fragile.
Ino closed their distance and enveloped her into a hug, squeezing the petite girl to reassure her support for the other; Sakura squeezed back. The blonde pulled away and slipped her hand into the latter’s, beginning their slow return to the kunoichi’s home.
“Thank you, Ino.” She said softly as they came to her doorstep, turning the knob with her free hand. Yamanaka smiled and shook her head, fingers slipping away from the other kunoichi’s.
As they both turned to go their separate ways Sakura paused, remembering something Ino had told her when she had first burst into the apartment.
“Ino!” she called quickly.
“Hmmm?” the blonde turned around with a quirked eyebrow.
“You said you’d explain why you were up so late…” The pink-haired girl leaned against her door jam, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh,” Ino’s lips came into an O-shape, and then a bashful expression spread across her face, reaching up to tug at her golden ponytail.
“Chouji came home as a surprise…”
Sakura held back from grinning, “Well, I won’t keep him waiting then…”
The sun was coming up as she made it into her room, sifting through the clothes in her closet until she came across a wrinkled hospital uniform, slightly musty from its corner closet hiding place. Sakura held the uniform in front of her, inspecting it from all angles; slow but surely, she was getting herself back piece by piece.
Author’s Notes// I honestly thought of extending this chapter, but I realized that if I write too much, I lose focus, and I hate that. So I’m going to keep each chapter around 1800 to 2000 words. I know, I know, it’s short, but it will allow for focused chapters and more frequent updates. And I understand how important frequent updates can be. I’ve already started on chapter 10, weeeeee.
There was no Japanese this chapter! D:I’ll work on that for Ch. 10.
Much love, Usagi
Disclaimer: lol wut?
~~~~~~
All the time, darling now, oh
All the time, now we’ll have to make it up
We’ll make it up, oh
All the days, darling now, oh
All the days, now we’ll have to make them up
We’ll make them up somehow
We’ll make them up…
~~~~~~
Daisuki; Chapter 9
I’ll Catch You
“You still love me, don’t you Sakura?”
His onyx eyes were digging deep into her soul, tugging on her heartstrings and making her head hurt.
“I know you do.”
She could feel his breath on her neck, those slender fingers slipping beneath her shirt to grip her soft hips. Sakura squirmed against his touch, uncomfortable with the position she was trapped in. This wasn’t the boy she remembered, not even close. Before she knew it she was crying; the Uchiha oblivious even as her hands tried to push him away.
“Sasuke, please, I’m begging you…”
“SAKURA!”
The kunoichi shot up from her mattress, beads of sweat clinging to her temples as she panted, dizzy from the realization that it had only been a terrible dream. The sheets were twisted around her legs, pillows strewn about the floor below her. Sakura swallowed hard and looked to her balcony window, a clear, early morning sky greeting her, still purple and dotted with stars.
“Sakura, open the door!”
Her eyes darted to the hallway that led away from her room, confused as to why someone was asking entrance to her home at – she quickly checked the bedside clock – 4:51 in the morning. The pounding continued and she grumbled her disapproval, throwing the sheets from her body and practically stomping to the door.
“What could you possibly want at this time of the night!?” She growled as the door swung open.
The sight of a disheveled Ino in her pajamas and robe did nothing to help her confusion, but she managed to control the expression revealing itself on her face somewhat.
“Ino…what’s going on...?”
“I overheard a group of shinobi running past my home – don’t ask me why I was up I’ll tell you later – and I heard them say something about an anonymous scroll coming into the village. Something’s happened with Shikamaru’s group.” The blonde panted.
The pink-haired girl parted her lips to respond but found she had no words to fill the reply. Shikamaru’s group. Naruto, Kiba…Lee. Oh God, Lee…
“Now’s not the time for day dreaming Sakura!” Ino hissed, pushing past her friend to grab the nearest coat she could find and throwing it over the other. “We have to get to the Hokage’s office!”
She clapped her hand into Sakura’s, pulling her from the apartment and into the street. They fell into a rhythm as they ran hand-in-hand, doused in orange from the overhead streetlamps every few feet. Early bird shopkeepers watched them with puzzled expressions as they sprinted past the market stalls; two girls running down the street in sleepwear was an odd sight to behold. Tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, willing away the tears.
“Be strong, Sakura!” Ino’s voice interrupted her worried thoughts, eyes opening to find her friend staring back at her. The blonde’s green eyes narrowed, “You’re a shinobi, so start acting like it!”
The steps up to the Hokage’s office seemed endless, but as they neared their destination their pace slowed, mostly from the fear that they would be heard by the meeting already in session. Shuffling down the hallway as quietly as humanly possible, the closed office door came into view, urgent, hushed voices talking quickly.
“And we’re supposed to just trust some anonymous scroll from a cloaked bunshin? It’s obviously a trap!”
That voice was definitely Gai, Sakura could indentify it from a mile away.
“Don’t try and make it into what you want it to be, Gai.”
Kakashi was there too…
“Is that a challenge!?”
Oh Lord, couldn’t they stop fighting for one second…
“Enough.” This time it was Tsunade, grumpy she had been pulled from her bed when she had only fallen asleep an hour before. She waved away the tea Shizune was moving to set on her desk; instead she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the hard wood, intertwining her fingers in a contemplative pose. “Whether it is a trap or not, we cannot risk the chance of losing two good shinobi if it isn’t. Kakashi, send word to Yugao to form a cell of her choice as quickly as possible; Shizune, you will be going with her team for medical purposes only.”
“Yes, Hokage sama…” The brunette responded with a quick bow of her head.
“Now, let’s break up this party so I can get some rest. I don’t have time to argue about…”
“Hokage sama.” The scarecrow straightened his posture, gaze drifting towards the door; Sakura’s hair prickled on the back of her neck.
The two girls looked to the other end of the hallway, approaching footsteps coming quickly. It was too late to hide now. Shikamaru came around the corner, immediately halting when he saw both pairs of green eyes staring at him. He sighed, ignoring the kunoichi and rapping his knuckles against the office door.
“Come in.”
The door opened and shut and the two girls let out the breath they had been holding.
“Shikamaru.” The blonde Hokage hid her surprise, crossing one leg over the other in her chair. She waited for him to speak while the entire room shifted uneasily.
“I came as fast as I could, Hokage Sama,” He began, “I’m alone because Kiba and Lee have been severely wounded and Naruto and I are unable to move them in their current condition. I left Naruto to care for the two and departed on my own.”
Tsunade regarded the Nara boy in a pregnant pause, index finger stroking her cheek while her palm cradled her chin.
“Cancel the last request.” She began suddenly, “Inform Yugao she will only need one comrade from her normal cell. Shizune and Shikamaru will accompany the two back to where Naruto, Lee, and Kiba are waiting.” Her eyes flicked back to Shikamaru. “Would there be chance of a second attack?”
His response barely took a second, “I don’t believe a second attack would occur. The first seemed to be…a warning.”
“Hmmm,” the Godaime shifted in her seat again then nodded in agreement. “It’s settled then. All of you are dismissed.”
One by one the various shinobi disappeared from the room, Gai lagging behind with Kakashi.
“I see that smug look on your face, Kakashi! Don’t think just because my Lee was wounded and Naruto came out unscathed that you’ve won!”
“Won? Won what?” He responded nonchalantly.
“Kakashiiii!” Gai shook his fists at the copy-nin, “Don’t try and confuse me, I know what you’re up to!”
“Sakura, what are you…” Ino was startled when Sakura shot up from their kneeling spot next to the door, unable to pull her back before the kunoichi burst into the office unannounced.
“Tsunade sama, allow me to go as well!”
The blonde slapped her hand over her face, groaning at her friend’s forwardness. The female member of the legendary sannin regarded her late apprentice with indifference, Shizune casting a panicked look between the two.
“No.” She replied simply.
The latter recoiled as if she had been slapped in the face. “What do you mean, ‘no’!? I have every right to accompany Shizune and the others! I’m a medical ninja too! A damn good one!”
At this point Gai and Kakashi had silenced their argument to make a hurried exit from the room; there was no way they intended to stay for that showdown. Tsunade leaned back into her chair with a sigh, brushing away the nonexistent lint from her knee.
“A good medical ninja does not abandon their studies…”
“But…” Sakura interjected and her teacher continued.
“A good medical ninja does not allow emotions to get in the way…”
“Tsunade sama…”
“And a good medical ninja certainly does not eavesdrop on confidential meetings and then burst in and demand positions on missions they not only don’t deserve but are not prepared for!”
The kunoichi recoiled again, but remained determined to change the blonde’s mind.
“I can do this, Tsunade sama. I know I can…”
“And this is coming from the girl who has neglected any sort of study or training for months. The village would think me a fool to send you out on this mission. The answer is no, Sakura, and that answer is final.”
Tsunade pushed away from her desk as she stood up, Shizune clearing a path for the blonde as she walked past both her and the younger kunoichi. Sakura clenched her fists, restraining from screaming in frustration. The departing Hokage paused in the doorway to interrupt the latter’s angered thoughts.
“I suggest you go home and dust off your hospital uniform. You’ll be reporting to the Emergency Unit in an hour.” She cast a look over her shoulder, glad to find Sakura was paying attention. “Don’t be late.”
Shizune remained silent until Tsunade was finally out of earshot, approaching the solemn Sakura with an empathetic sadness. She placed her hand gently on the girl’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll do my best to take care of them, Sakura san. You should do your best at the hospital until we return.”
The fingers drifted from her shoulder as Shizune departed from the room, leaving the younger girl to her conflicted thoughts.
“You’ve got some guts, Sakura.”
Ino shuffled into the room in a sheepish state that was unlike her, keeping her distance from her pink-haired friend and staying close to the door. Sakura turned around to face her, moisture already lining her dark lashes.
“I have to do my best until they come back; for Lee.” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled from lack of anything else to say; at her strongest moment she looked completely fragile.
Ino closed their distance and enveloped her into a hug, squeezing the petite girl to reassure her support for the other; Sakura squeezed back. The blonde pulled away and slipped her hand into the latter’s, beginning their slow return to the kunoichi’s home.
“Thank you, Ino.” She said softly as they came to her doorstep, turning the knob with her free hand. Yamanaka smiled and shook her head, fingers slipping away from the other kunoichi’s.
As they both turned to go their separate ways Sakura paused, remembering something Ino had told her when she had first burst into the apartment.
“Ino!” she called quickly.
“Hmmm?” the blonde turned around with a quirked eyebrow.
“You said you’d explain why you were up so late…” The pink-haired girl leaned against her door jam, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh,” Ino’s lips came into an O-shape, and then a bashful expression spread across her face, reaching up to tug at her golden ponytail.
“Chouji came home as a surprise…”
Sakura held back from grinning, “Well, I won’t keep him waiting then…”
The sun was coming up as she made it into her room, sifting through the clothes in her closet until she came across a wrinkled hospital uniform, slightly musty from its corner closet hiding place. Sakura held the uniform in front of her, inspecting it from all angles; slow but surely, she was getting herself back piece by piece.
Author’s Notes// I honestly thought of extending this chapter, but I realized that if I write too much, I lose focus, and I hate that. So I’m going to keep each chapter around 1800 to 2000 words. I know, I know, it’s short, but it will allow for focused chapters and more frequent updates. And I understand how important frequent updates can be. I’ve already started on chapter 10, weeeeee.
There was no Japanese this chapter! D:I’ll work on that for Ch. 10.
Much love, Usagi