Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Of Love and Betrayal ❯ Of Hope and New Beginnings ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I'm just totally obsessed with it!

Last Chapter Summary: 5 Years ago Sakura was captured by Orochimaru and tortured and raped by Sasuke. Sakura thinks back on these events marveling at how fast time had flown by. She thinks about what has happened since then as she walks to HQ. Once at HQ she meets with Tsunade whom she tells that she wants to join ANBU…

 

Chapter Title: Of Hope and New Beginnings

 

Tsunade's amber eyes widened a fraction in surprise, before she placed her folded hands on the desk and leaned forward.

“What made you come up with this decision?”

Sakura thought a minute before her cerulean eyes turned to meet her sensei's eyes.

“I just feel like I need to help Konoha more and I cant think of a better way then using both my medical skills and my ninja skills to help keep people alive and to keep peace within the fire country.”

Tsunade leaned back in her chair studying Sakura closely. Sakura fidgeted slightly under her sensei's scrutiny.

“Do you understand what it will mean to join ANBU?”

Sakura's shoulders slumped slightly, not liking where the conversation was heading.

“Yes I do and I feel like I'm more then qualified to be in ANBU.”

“ANBU missions are always S class missions and there is never a guarantee that you will return from these missions, can you live with that fact?” Tsunade asked, studying Sakura's reaction.

The pink haired women just smiled and nodded her head. Tsunade sighed, seeing that her student was set on her decision.

“There are only two more slots left open in ANBU as of today and you are not the only one submitting their name. I know how much you have grown and how strong you have become, but even knowing this I want to set you up with a training schedule for the next month and at the end of this month if I think you are ready then I will submit your name to ANBU.”

Sakura practically beamed in happiness, realizing that her sensei believed in her abilities enough to let her have a chance of joining ANBU.

“Hai, arigato sensei!”

Tsunade smiled, happy to see a smile on her student's face again. She pulled a scroll from a drawer in her desk and began to write directions for Sakura.

After a couple of minutes she rolled up the scroll, sealed it, and then gave it to Sakura, who took it and put it in one of the many pouches in her Jounin vest.

“In that scroll is a schedule for your training for the next month. You will have four different shinobi training you each week. Do you understand?”

Sakura nodded, her lips twitching slightly in an effort not to laugh, jump up and hug Tsunade in her happiness.

“The first week you will be meeting with Gai and he will be helping you with your Taijutsu…”

Sakura inwardly cringed at the thought of having to train with the self proclaimed Beautiful green Beast of Konoha. She was ripped from her thoughts when she heard the name of her last trainer.

“Sorry who was the last trainer?”

Tsunade's thin eyebrow rose a fraction.

“Hatake Kakashi will be your last trainer and he will be helping you with your Ninjutsu,” She repeated.

`Kakashi-sensei…'

Seeing the rigid tenseness in Sakura's shoulders, Tsunade leaned back in her chair smirking.

“I know that your relationship with Kakashi has dwindled in the past couple of years but I'm sure he will be more then happy to help you train.”

`Dwindled? More like disappeared.'

She forced a small smile.

“Yea I don't know what I'm worried about; I know he will always help me when I need it.” She forced through the tightness that had appeared in her chest.

“After each week, your trainers will report to me. On the last day of the fourth week I want you to report to me personally and I will decide then if you are ready for the ANBU entrance exam by having a battle. Is this understood?”

Sakura was shocked to say the least but she nodded, “hai!”

Tsunade then smiled warmly and stood. “I know you will do fine, just work hard, getting into ANBU is tough, But I believe in you….” Tsunade cleared her throat and folded her arms in front of her chest.

“Okay then I wish you the best of luck and make sure you let each trainer know about this, just give them that scroll I gave you and I'll make sure that I don't give them any missions. You're dismissed!”

Sakura bowed and then left the room, closing the door softly behind her. She momentarily leaned back on the closed door and smiled happily. Inner Sakura was doing a victory dance in her head.

`I can't believe she said yes! I hope I can get through these next four weeks.'

Then she remembered the fact that she had to go and ask her former sensei, which she had not talked to for more then four years, if he could train her once again. She groaned inwardly, instantly dreading the moment when she had to confront Kakashi.

She finally pushed her self off the door and headed down the many halls of HQ and out the door into the cool evening air.

Taking a deep breath she decided to go visit the grave marker for the first time in a couple of months. As she followed the well worn path to the grave marker she thought about her parents who had died two years ago on a mission.

They had been sent on an A class mission with two other Jounin to protect a lord from the Snow country. They had been ambushed by a group of rogue ninja and were killed, leaving Sakura utterly alone.

After she had learned of there passing she had fallen back into depression, feeling like she was now utterly alone. Naruto had really helped her through that time.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she realized she was not the only person with the idea to go to the grave marker. She quickly hid behind a tree and peeked around the wide trunk at the man standing in front of the marker. Something about the man was familiar to her and when she saw the man's silver hair glisten in the sunlight she realized who it was.

`Kakashi! What is he doing here?'

She could hear him saying something but she didn't see anyone else around.

“I feel like everyone I start to care about gets killed or hurt in some way. First I failed you, Obito, and then Sasuke and finally Sakura…”

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when he mentioned her name.

“I don't understand what's wrong with me, what have I done to Kami to make him take away everyone I care about,” Kakashi whispered, anguish and anger laced in his voice.

Sakura heard him sigh and saw him bow his head respectively.

“Until tomorrow my good friend.”

Then he got up and slowly walked down the path back to the main village. Slowly coming out of her hiding spot she walked up to the marker and looked for the name Kakashi had mentioned. Her finger traced the small marks that spelled out Uchiha Obito.

`An Uchiha! Who was this person and why does Kakashi feel like he failed him?'

Thinking back now Sakura couldn't remember a time when Kakashi had mentioned anything about his past to her. All she knew was that he had a very hard life and that he had lost a good friend in a mission and that his father who was Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, had taken his own life due to guilt. Other then that she didn't know much about Kakashi's past, and the only way she knew that much about him was from rumors she had heard around the village.

`I don't even know what the man looks like let alone what's in his past. I wonder why he never opened up to us after all those years together.' She wondered, thinking back, trying to remember any time where Kakashi had mentioned anything from his personal life or his past.

She shrugged and put the new information in the back of her mind to ponder on later. Her eyes drifted back to the marker to where her parents names where carved.

“Mama…papa I miss you so much. I decided to join ANBU and Tsunade agreed! I know you guys would be proud of me, I just wish you were here to see me take my exam.”

Sakura sighed and got back up from her knees, brushing the dirt that clung there off.

“Well I have to go know but Ill come visit again soon…. Goodbye mama and Papa.”

She bowed respectfully and then turned and followed the path back to the village and to her house.

 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

 

When she got close to her house she saw that Naruto was waiting for her on her porch. Her brow furrowed slightly, `I wonder what he's doing here?'

Sakura stopped and studied Naruto, who seemed almost half asleep on her porch steps. He was now 22 the same age as her and in his prime. He had grown both physically and mentally. He now towered above many other men of the village at an impressive 6'4”. He still had the same good natured personality of his younger years, and you could always count on him to have a smile on his handsome face, but his blue eyes always held deep shadows, showing that he had seen too much for his young age. He still had the same whisker like marks on his cheeks and his golden hair was messy as usual, sticking up at all ends, but the baby fat had left his face and body all together, leaving a hard and sculptured face and a lean, muscular body. He had given up on wearing the orange and black jump suit from his childhood years and had adopted the usual Jounin uniform.

In a way he was a handsome, strong looking man, but she only saw him as brother and a good friend. Sakura shook her head a little and then continued to walk towards her house.

When Naruto noticed her walking up, he stood and waved cheerfully, a big smile planted on his handsome features.

“Hey Naruto-Kun, what are you doing here?”

He pouted a hurt expression on his face.

“You're not happy to see me?”

“Oh no no no I'm really happy to see you I'm just wondering what the occasion is for?”

His smile quickly returned and his blue eyes filled with excitement.

“I just got some really good news and I had to come over here and tell you.”

“Oh well come on inside so we can talk,” She said while unlocking her front door and holding it open for him. Naruto stepped inside and turned on the light.

“So where were you? I was waiting for a while, I would've thought you would've been home by now.”

“Oh now that you mention it I have some good news myself and that's part of the reason why I was so late.”

She motioned for him to follow her as she walked into the living room, turning on the light, and sat on the couch, Naruto following her.

“So what has got you in such a good mood,” She asked smiling.

“Hinata's pregnant!” he exclaimed his eyes dancing with happiness.

Sakura's jaw practically hit the floor as she tried to register what she had just heard.

“You're going to have a baby?” she whispered hesitantly.

“Yea isn't that great, I can't believe I'm going to be a father…can you imagine me being a father. I always thought you would be popping out babies before I ever thought about settling down,” He rambled on excitedly.

Sakura's eyes slid down to her hands in her lap, a sharp pain going through her heart at the mention of having a family. It was true out of all of them, she had been the one most likely to settle down and have a family first, but her hopes had been crushed five years ago.

Withdrawing from her dark thoughts, she forced a smile on her face and got up and hugged Naruto.

“I'm so happy for you. Don't worry you'll be a great father.”

She pulled back just in time to see his blue eyes dampen slightly. Naruto sniffled a little and looked up at Sakura happily.

“You don't know how much that means to me. Arigato Sakura-chan.”

Sakura smiled and got up. “Hey do you want some tea or something?” she asked, heading for the kitchen.

“Uh yea tea is fine. So what's your good news?” he said following her into the kitchen.

Putting a pot of water on the stove, she turned towards Naruto.

“I've decided to join ANBU.”

Now it was Naruto's turn to have his jaw practically hit the ground.

“Are you serious? Are you sure? Do you know what that means?”

Sakura's jaw ticked and her blood boiled to a raging fire.

“Are you saying I can't do it?” She asked her hands clenching with an unspoken threat.

Sensing the danger Naruto backed up slowly his hands spread out in front of him as if to defend himself. He laughed nervously.

“No no no of course not Sakura that's not what I meant.”

“Really then what did you mean?” she said taking a threatening step forward.

Naruto took another step back, realizing that he had backed himself into a wall.

“I meant that being in ANBU means always having S class missions and there's always a chance you won't come back. I'm just worried that you might get hurt. But if your sure then I will back you totally.” He stammered and then cringed, covering his face with his arms. When the pain he was expecting didn't come he peeked hesitantly through his fingers. Sakura lunged at him and hugged him in a happy daze.

Naruto squirmed and gasped under her grasp trying to wiggle out of her tight hug.

“Sa….ku…ra! Too….tight!” he gasped out beginning to turn a slight tinge of blue.

Coming out of her happy daze, she quickly let go of her death grip and backed away chuckling sheepishly.

“Oh sorry Naruto.”

He took a deep breath and smiled. “It's alright…” He paused his blue eyes studying her.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny.

“It's been a while since your smile has reached your eyes…I guess this really means a lot to you…if that's the case then I'll definitely support you.”

Sakura smiled warmly. “Thank you Naruto-kun,” She whispered and then gave him a cup of steaming tea.

“So today I went to Tsunade to tell her and she actually agreed! She said that she would submit my name to ANBU, but she gave me this training schedule for the next month and I have to train with four different trainers…..including Kakashi-sensei.”

Naruto looked up sharply, his expression dead serious.

“Will you be okay training with him again? If not I can convince granny-Chan to change it to another trainer.”

Sakura shook her head and sipped her tea.

“No I'm not an immature little girl anymore, I can deal with it; I just have to find where I can tell him about this…” she trailed off.

“Well when was the last time you talked to Kakashi, I thought you guys weren't close anymore.”

Sakura lowered her gaze.

“Yea we haven't talked really in about four years, ever since… well after team Kakashi was disbanded we never really were the same again. I'm just kind of nervous about having to train under him again.”

Naruto Smiled. “Don't worry, it won't be that bad, once you start talking it will be just like old times again.” Sakura sighed.

“Yea I hope you're right.” A heavy silence fell between the two, then Naruto brightened up again.

“Oh yea I almost forgot, I got invited to this get together at the shinobi bar, I wanted to ask if you wanted to come. I heard that a lot of Jounin will be there including Gai, and Kurenai-sama, so maybe Kakashi-sensei will be there.”

“Yea that sounds fun, let me just go wash up really fast and then we can head out,” she said and hurriedly walked to her room, closing the door. Her heart was pounding as she went to the bathroom and untied her head guard and placed it on the counter. She gazed into the mirror studying herself.

In the last five years she had grown into a beautiful woman. She had lost the naive and young look in her face and had acquired a more hardened look. Her cheeks had lost what baby fat was left, and now her high cheekbones gave her face a more mature but soft look. Her cerulean eyes had only become more green but behind that magnificent green color held deep shadows.

She had kept her silky pink hair short, only slightly above her shoulders. Her body had also lost the baby fat and had become lean and strong. Her medium sized breast tapered to a slim waist and a flat stomach.

Her long and lean legs held a hidden power of their own. Over all she was not a bad looking Kinochi, which had helped her a lot on past missions where she was to seduce her chosen targets.

Sakura took her eyes from the mirror and washed her face with cool water. Then she brushed her teeth and put her head protector back on. She then went back into her bedroom and took off her sweaty uniform and put on her casual black shorts and pink skirt and black skin tight shirt. She put her green Jounin jacket back on and left her bedroom.

“Okay Naruto I'm ready, let's go.”

Naruto got up from the couch and left the house with Sakura.

 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

 

Once they reached the bar they both went inside and looked around the crowded bar, looking for there familiar group of Jounin.

“Hey Sakura and Naruto are here! Hey over here!” Kiba shouted over the noise, waving them over to a table close to the bar.

Naruto and Sakura headed over to the table. Once there, they greeted the others and then pulled chairs over and sat down.

“Hey guys what's new?” Naruto asked and they all started to converse amongst themselves.

Sakura looked around seeing many familiar faces but she was drawn into the conversation agian when she heard her name called. She looked back at the table to find everyone looking at her with wide eyes.

“What?”

“Is it true are you really going to join ANBU?” kiba asked awed.

“No Sakura-kun you can't all I'll do is worry about my beautiful Sakura!” lee cried dramatically slouching in his chair.

Sakura whipped her head around and glared at Naruto. He smiled sheepishly at her.

“It slipped out.”

Clenching her teeth she nodded.

“Yea I'm going to be training for the next month and then I'm going to try out after that. But let's not talk about me; I just found out that our little Naruto here is going to be a father in nine months.” She said hooking her arm around Naruto's neck.

From there everyone at the table totally forgot about Sakura's news and started to talk all at once. Naruto's face turned all shades of red from embarrassment and Sakura laughed and got up to get a round of drinks at the bar.

As she downed her first shot of warm sake she felt someone walk up behind her and she groaned inwardly.

“Hey Sakura, how are you doing babe?” Genma asked, his usual senbon sticking from the side of his mouth.

“Nothing and my name is not babe,” She grumbled

Genma put his hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him.

Sakura plucked his hand off of her shoulder and ordered another bottle of sake.

“Aw not in the talking mood today? Hey you should slow down on the alcohol.”

She slammed her bottle a little too hard and turned towards Genma.

“What is it you want exactly?”

Genma chuckled and sat on the stool next to her.

“Hey don't get your panties in a bunch I'm just here for conversation, my group isn't very talkative today.” He said nodding his head towards a table in the far corner where Gai, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Asuma sat talking.

`Well that's three of the four trainers; at least this makes my job a little easier.'

Taking one last swig of her drink she pushed away from the bar and started to walk towards the far table, leaving Genma to trail after her like a lost puppy.

“Hey it's not polite to just walk out on someone when they are talking to you,” He said grabbing her arm and turning her around. Some of the people around the bar looked up, interested at what the pink haired Kinochi would do next.

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously and one pink eyebrow rose. She looked down to where Genma's hand still held her arm.

“Let go of me Genma, I'm not in the mood to deal with you today, so I suggest you set your sights on another woman, there are plenty to choose from,” She sneered angrily and pulled her arm from his grasp.

“Hey why do you always have to be a bitch to me?!”

Inner Sakura turned red in outraged. `Who do you think you're calling a bitch?'

Sakura turned slightly and glanced behind her at Genma.

“If you know what's good for you Genma you should leave before I make sure you never have children again,” She growled menacingly.

Genma paled noticeably and slowly inched around her and took his seat at the table, avoiding her eyes.

Inner Sakura smirked and flexed. `Yup I still got it!'

Sakura walked up to the table and took the scroll Tsunade had given her out of her Jounin jacket.

“Kurenai-sama, Gai-sensei…Kakashi-sensei, I have a favor to ask from the three of you.”

Those mentioned looked up at the pink-haired Kinochi and waited patiently for her to continue. Feeling her courage start to fail her she quickly got on with the story, avoiding eye contact with the silver haired man to her left.

`I should have had another drink before coming over here. Well it's too late now, might as well ask them, I just have to avoid talking to Kakashi directly.' She took a deep breath and continued.

“I'm going to be joining ANBU and Tsunade-sensei wants me to train for the next month. Everything is explained in this scroll.” She said unrolling the scroll and giving it to Gai. They each took a turn at looking through the scroll and then Kakashi handed it back to Sakura.

“So you've decided to join ANBU huh?” Kakashi said nonchalantly.

Sakura stiffened slightly and turned to the man sitting beside her.

“You know before I can give Hokage-sama a report I have to make sure that you're up for the challenge.” He said, his droopy eye studying her with a cool air of authority.

Sakura clenched her fists but said nothing.

“We'll be more then happy to train you, I guess I will be the first to train you so how about we start tomorrow, you can meet me at the training fields at dawn and I will teach you the ways of Taijutsu!” Gai said, dramatic as usual.
“Hai, I will be there, thank you so much for your help, if you guys need any favors from me don't be afraid to ask because I owe you guys big,” Sakura said gratefully.

“Oh don't worry about it we are always glad to help fellow Konoha shinobi.” Kurenai said, smiling.

“Actually I do have a favor to ask you, but I would rather ask in private.” Kakashi said in a low voice. The other Jounin at the table looked at Kakashi surprised but just shrugged there shoulders and went back to their conversations, all that is except Genma who looked between Kakashi and Sakura and frowned.

Sakura looked at Kakashi frowning but followed him when he walked out of the bar. A little ways from the bar he turned back towards her.

“What was it you wanted to ask?” Sakura said curiously.

`I swear if he tells me he wants me to do the bell test I will hit him so hard he will never be able to talk again!'

“I would like it if you would not say anything to anyone about what you saw and heard at the grave marker earlier today.”

“You knew I was there?' she said shocked.

He didn't respond but started to walk back to the bar.

“Oh and Sakura, I wont start training you until you can prove to me that you are strong enough mind and body to be an ANBU, so expect your last week to be a hard one…ja,” He said and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura literally growled in anger.

“That bastard! I'll show him just how rough that week is going to be!”

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Authors Note:

 

Wow that was a long chapter; well I hope you guys liked it. I know there wasn't much of Kakashi in this chapter but he will have a much bigger role in later chapters. Also this chapter was mostly about explaining things. I wasn't going to put in the whole scenario at the grave marker but I think it fits into this story. Also I hope my attempt at being funny worked. Well my next chapter won't be as long but it will have a lot more action, because it will be the start of Sakura's training. And if you haven't already noticed that Sakura is a really complicated character, the only thing she really has come to care about are her close friends and serving Konoha. Well that's it for now till next time. Ja Ne!

 

 

Next Chapter:

The start of Sakura's training and she has a mysterious check up at the hospital for what you ask? You'll find out soon enough.