Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Distant Thoughts ❯ To be Strong ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

AN: Well I am glad you all liked my last chapter, I will try to get them that long, but don’t count on that too much. Now on with the story!!

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Chapter 5: To be Strong…
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I will be strong. Never did he think Sakura would produce those words. Sure she was always stubborn and did things so it didn’t look like she needed anybody, but she had never verbally spoken about it. Sasuke had promised, that even though she was somewhat a burden, he would always help and protect his teammates. Naruto hardly needed help, only when he acts to irrationally, but Sakura was always the one in distress, needing help. But now he knew, as he closed her mahogany door, that Sakura could stand on her own two feet. She didn’t need someone babying her, like he was doing most of the time. He prevented her from most forms of training, saying that she would not be able to handle it. Little did she know that she put herself through things rougher then he had been doing when stopping her.

‘Am I that much out of it that I didn’t see what was in front of me?’ He questioned himself. Was he too busy being an avenger to even notice such a drastic change in someone that is so close to him. Sasuke didn’t know anymore. He still wanted to get his brother for what he did, but he didn’t want to leave Sakura. Something in her new strength sparked his interest. Not only that but with the way Sakura acted with Neji. Neji might have not noticed, but Sasuke did. He heard the little slip up from Sakura when she called Neji ‘-kun’. The small mishap of affection made Sasuke mad. She never called anyone but him with that end. But know he noticed that sometimes, she would even leave it out of his name.

‘Has she really gotten over me so fast?’ He finally took a step towards the stairs. Sasuke made his way through the dark home to the couch he was laying on earlier. Pulling the blanket back, he laid down and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t want to admit it, and still verbally wont, but inside he missed the old Sakura.

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Sakura put her head down when Sasuke finally left her room. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she refused to spill them over her soft cheeks. When she saw Sasuke and Neji together, in her room, her heart was racing. Two people she cared for, one she was trying to forget, the other trying to know, in front pf her scared her and made her happy. It was a great relief to see those two concerned about her, when she thought they would be the least concerned about her situation. She pulled the blanket up to her chin, smiling she turned her head to the window. ‘Daddy, I will be strong like you. I want to always remember you, and Momma, I will be caring like you. I will move on and make you proud.’
Sakura closed her eyes and once again drifted off to sleep, this time no dreams interrupted her night.

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Naruto awoke unusually early that day, but he had something to do that was very important, that was to see Sakura and make sure she was alright. He took off his sleeping cap (I think it makes him look goofier than he is, but its cute) and went straight to the kitchen. He shook a half-empty carton of milk before pouring it into his cereal. He picked up a spoon he found and sniffed it before shrugging and dumping it in the cereal to load it with the sugary food. He put it into his mouth, after two bits he stopped and slowly took another one before his eyes widened. Cereal was soon flying around the room as Naruto spat his food out and poured the rest down the sink. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve,

“Guess no breakfast again today.”

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Hinata walked slowly down the early morning street. People were finally emerging from there dwellings to face another day. She turned her silver eyes towards the ground in front of her, not wanting to meet any of the faces that she was passing. She continued down in the direction of Sakura’s house. Even with Neji telling her that Sakura was alright, she still spent the night thinking about her. Nobody could ever be alright after their parents were killed.

Hinata passed a quick hand over her dark short hair before turning the corner, just to bump into someone. She expected to hit the ground but was saved when a hand wrapped around her small waist, preventing her from making friends with the dirt. She shyly looked up and blushed when she noticed it was the young blonde she always admired, holding her.

“Hinata-chan! We need to stop meeting like this, I don’t think I can catch you every time.”

Hinata gave a small smile and blushed a little more when Naruto failed to remove his arm and instead pulled her on the road to Sakura’s home.

“Were you on the way to visit Sakura-chan too, Naruto-kun?”

The feeling of warmth left her mid-section as Naruto brought his hand up to the back of his head and rubbed it, smiling warmly at her. “Yea, I hope Sasuke won’t be a jerk and let me see her, but with you here, he has to let at least you in.” Hinata nodded her head and continued walking to her designation. Naruto fell in step beside her and silently the two walked to Sakura’s.

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Sasuke opened the door slowly and placed the tray on the desk near the bed. A small bundle of blankets were positioned in the center of the bed. He walked cautiously to the bed and poked the lump. It didn’t move and Sasuke felt his eye twitch when he repeated the action and none was returned. He growled and snatched the blankets off the bed, a pillow falling to the ground. He dropped the blankets when he heard the door open once again. Sakura walked in and saw her bed a mess. Her blankets were at Sasuke’s feet and her pillow tossed to the side. She raised her eyebrow at him when he adverted her gaze, his cheeks a little rosy in embarrassment. She didn’t move but Sasuke coughed and pointed to the tray.

The tray was littered with pancakes, eggs, and fruits. Sakura’s mouth slowly watered when she saw the food. She hardly ate a thing yesterday and was too busy with what happened to even think of eating anything. She made her way into her room and sat at the desk, picking up the fork that was beside the plates and started stuffing her mouth.

Near the end of eating her food, a glass of milk was placed in front of her, she smiled in gratitude and eagerly drank the entire glass. She sighed and wiped her mouth from any crumbs and her milk mustache.
The plate was picked up and Sasuke made his way downstairs to the kitchen. When he placed the dishes in the sink, he felt two small arms wrap around his waist and a head lean on his back.

“Thank you for everything Sasuke-kun. I’m very happy that you actually stayed.”

Sasuke sighed, “Sakura, I wouldn’t have left your side even if Kakashi didn’t tell me to stay.” He turned, making sure he stayed in her arms. “Don’t think I don’t care, you are important to me.” Sakura stared into his eyes that shone with sincerity. ‘Why now Sasuke, why are you confusing me like this?’ She thought, but before she could question him, a knock came to her front door. She let go of him and turned to go open the door but Sasuke held out his hand, “Get dressed, I’ll let Naruto in.” She didn’t ask how he knew that it was Naruto but turned to go clean her room quickly and get changed.

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Naruto and Hinata waited outside. They heard shuffling and soon the door in front of them opened to reveal dark eyes.

“What it is Naruto?” Asked Sasuke, his dark eyes traveled to his teammate’s companion. The small girl played with her fingers, an nervous habit, like Naruto’s head scratching. Hinata looked up at the boy and smiled, “I would like to see Sakura-chan. That is if she is alright to have visitors.” Before Sasuke could give her a negative response, wanting to go back to talking alone with Sakura, said girl came down the stairs and yelled,

“Hinata-chan! How are you?” She pushed pass Sasuke and Naruto to hug her friend. Hinata returned the hug and pulled away from Sakura. She looked into the bright eyes of her friend, “Are you okay Sakura-chan?” The brightness faded from the green eyes of the girl in front of her. “Ano, does everyone know?” Naruto lowered his head, not wanting to look into her sad eyes. “The names were carved into the wall as soon as they could do it.” Sakura nodded her head, sucking in a breath, “Well Hinata-chan, come on in. I just finished eating, but if you want anything just tell me.”

Sasuke moved away from the door and let the three pass through to the living. He followed slowly behind them, glaring. He stopped at the threshold, Sakura turned and look curiously at him. “Sasuke-kun?” His eyes softened and looked at the pink-haired girl. He slowly turned and looked over his shoulder. “I’m going to go home and change. I’ll be back later.” He walked out and left her with Naruto and Hinata. She wanted him to stay, but thought it best if he did leave. ‘I need some time to think about things.’ she thought and turned to the other two on her couch. Sakura smiled and sat across from them.

“So Sakura? Are you okay?” Asked Naruto and Hinata waited for her friends answer. Sakura smiled and nodded her head. “Of course I am.” Naruto and Hinata exchange a quick glance that said ‘yeah right’ and looked at Sakura again. The girl sat in front of them with a smile, not once breaking the smile to sob. ‘Oh Sakura-chan. It’s okay to let it out.’ Both thought at the same time.

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Sasuke made it to his house and walked in. Before he even made it through the door, pain erupted from the junction of his shoulder and neck. He gripped his left shoulder and groaned as he fell to his knees. He hissed as the pain grew and he slowly succumbed to the raw feeling. He forehead was slick with the building moisture of sweat, pressing it firmly to the wooden ground that lined the halls. He gasped as it slowly stopped and then increase with a vengeance. Dark eyes dilated, unfocused as red spread at the edge of his vision. He glance up from the torture, eyes changing to the ever blood red of its resident bloodline.

A shadowy figure stood there, only the white of the snaky smile shone through, registering to the younger boy. Sasuke shook his head uncertain of what or who lie ahead of him. The shadow disappeared and the vision changed that to the girl that haunted Sasuke’s thoughts. She smiled sadly at him, her eyes somewhat teary, “I’m stopping Sasuke.” She whispered and in the blink of an eye, she too vanished. He looked down, not wanting to face anything else and let darkness consume his vision.

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She waved goodbye to the two who made their way out of her house together. She let out a small knowing smile, ‘Naruto, Hinata-chan is starting to grow on you, ne?’ She thought and turned to close her door. Sakura was finally alone, she made her way to the kitchen. She pulled out a stool and stepped up to view over the fridge and pulled down a small box of sweets. She hastily grabbed it and soon lost her balance, landing on her rear end.

She groaned and started to get up when another wave of pain shot through her, yet it was not because of her landing, it was another mind breaking headache. The sweets lay forgotten as she clutched her head with her small hands. Her body shook with pain, but it subsided with her coughing. Now instead her hands moved to her mouth and she coughed again and again. The fit racked her body and refused to let go of her as she bent forward to ward of the pain in her chest.

Eyes clutched shut and her body moved with each hack of air through her lungs. Sakura doubted that she would stay conscious much longer if she didn’t stop, but she couldn’t. Slowly she brought her hands away to see crimson liquid dripping from her palms. Another cough came through and she placed her hands down on the cold ground. She pushed herself up, only to fall as more air choking coughs came upon her person. ‘Why am I like this, what is wrong with me?’ she asked herself, not able to stay conscious any longer, Sakura passed out on her kitchen tiled floor.

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Neji continued to ignore everything around him. His arms where crossed over his chest and his black hair was in its usual style, sleek back and neatly combed. But the wind undid his hair, whipping in the air. His silver eyes glistened as he looked on into the vast country before him. The branch he was sitting on groaned with each passing breath the wind gave, but Neji was too far out to hear its plea.

He had yet to visit Sakura since last night. He preferred to have as little contact as he can from Sasuke, and also to have time to study upon the reason for the feelings he felt towards his rivals teammate. Sure Neji felt a sense of respect but he doubted that he truly liked the girl. Maybe he just liked her strength and determination. ‘But that would not explain why I am so worried about her.’ He thought. Usually the news of someone losing their parents would not upset him. They will live through that easily, but when he heard it was Sakura, ‘My heart felt so heavy.’

Neji sighed, he never was going to understand what is going on with him. Only around Sakura does he show his other side besides being cold-hearted. Hinata hardly sees that in him and she is family, ‘even if the Main House and Branch Houses fight, she is my blood.’ After their fight together, he hardly treated her coldly anymore. She had somewhat proven that she was able to take care of herself, even if she lost to him.

The tree branch cracked and Neji finally took notice of the instability of the wood. He jumped off and landed with a crunch on the cool green grass at the base of the tree. He glanced in the direction of where he was headed to but turned to go back home. ‘I need to prove that she isn’t important, there is still more I have to do than to worry about her.’

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Sasuke awoke with a groan and looked around him. He laid in a soft white bed and a small window was to his right. His could see varies tools around the room and noticed someone sleeping off to the side in a small chair. He slid out of the warm bed and shakily stood up and walked over to the person in the chair. Blonde hair peeked out from underneath a large blue blanket and the body stirred.

Sasuke tensed when he noticed the movement. He let out a breath when he noticed that they did not get up. He quickly snatched the blanket away and his eyes widened when he met blue.

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“No more, please.” Her breathing came out ragged and she clutched to the arms that pinned her to the cold stone wall. She struggled in vein when she heard a cold dark laughter rise from the dark form in front of her. She let the small tears run down her cheeks when she felt the body press flush against her own. The laughter stopped beside her ear and the voice of a male whispered to her, “My Sakura-chan, why should I stop when you already belong to me.” It laughed again and Sakura shook her head, pink hair flying around her face. “No! I don’t belong to anyone! Especially to someone I don’t know.” The arms tightened around her and she again struggled to get out. “Oh, but you do know me little one, you do.” She refused to give in and struggled harder.

The dark form let go of her and stood back, “I will see you again soon, Sakura.”

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Sakura awoke in another cold sweat. Her breathing had yet to calm as she clutched the bed sheets and closed her eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes and she let them freely fall. She didn’t care if someone was there or if she was alone. She just had to let it out, the dream she had felt more real than the other one. She had still yet to meet the man in her horrible nightmare. He claimed that she knew him, but she didn’t know anyone who would make her skin grow cold and crawl with every touch.

It was then that she noticed that the room she was in was freezing. It felt almost unnatural but she pulled the sheets up and around her shoulder to fight off the cold air.

Her tears stopped and she took in her surroundings. She sat in a small room, not that of her own, alone and in the somewhat dark. A small lamp the only form of light. She sighed when she finally realized that it was a hospital room. Then she remembered what had happened in the kitchen and checked her palms for the red liquid that stained them earlier. Both had no trace of the tainted fluid. She sighed again, a habit she gained by being around Naruto’s antics for too long. She laid back and tried to fight off the new sense of sleep, but it took over her form and she was left into a restful sleep.

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Sasuke backed away from the girl on the chair. Ino still slept even though Sasuke removed her cover from her body. He didn’t want the girl to wake up, but noticed that she probably knew why he was here in a hospital room.

He shook the blonde girl and slowly she blinked awake. Before Sasuke could even react, Ino jumped onto him and hugged all the air out of him. Sasuke gasped, trying to get some air in his lungs and pull the girl off of him.

“Oh Sasuke-kun! When I went over your house and saw you lying there one the floor I didn’t know what to do!” She reluctantly pulled away from him and clasped her hands together, bringing them up to her face. “I was so worried, Sasuke-kun.”

Sasuke wiped his sleeve and looked at Ino. “I was on the floor?” He questioned. A vigorous nod answered his question. ‘I don’t really remember much.’ He thought.

“How long have I been here?”

“About a day, but they said you can’t leave yet.”

By the time Ino finished speaking, Sasuke was already half way out the window. He turned to her and glared before jumping off the third story and making his way from the hospital. ‘Just to be anywhere but there.’

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AN: Sorry I couldn’t get it out sooner but I went on a trip and had to stay in S.C. longer then expected. Next chapter won’t be out till sometime next week. Thanks for all the comments! Please review!
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