Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Re-learning ❯ Chapter 1

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

It was a nice day. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot. There was a cool breeze and she had found a very pretty spot in which to stop for lunch. All in all Haruno Sakura was enjoy life for that very moment, which is more than she could say for the past few months. 'Hell who am I kidding, years!' she chided herself. Her main problem was, and had always been it seemed, her team. Not that she didn't love them, she did, but kami they gave her a headache!


To start with there was Uzumaki Naruto; the boy....no man now, that she considered her bother. He had matured so much from the boy he used to be. Oh, he could still be very childish but more often than not now behind his bright blue eyes she could see the wisdom that was passed down from his late sensi, Jiraya. He had gotten over his crush he had on her and now held the same familial love for her that she felt for him. Sakura worried so much for him. His life was always in jeporady from the Atkatsuki, and also now from the man he considered his best friend. He had made a decision recently about said best friend that had made chills run through her body. She had tried desperately to talk him out of it but he wouldn't be swayed. So much now his face reflected the overwhelming sadness he felt. She just didn't know what to do for him and that irritated her! It made her once again feel like that weak, helpless genin she used to be.

Sai was her other team mate. Talk about someone who pissed her off! It was like everything that came out of his mouth was meant to offend somebody! Though.....she knew he didn't really mean it. Sai had been a part of ROOT. The organization Danzo had been running in Konoha. Danzo had put all of the members through horrible training, including earsing their emotions. Sai was trying so hard to learn all of them again but it was a difficult road. He had come far though. Sakura knew she could trust him with her life and she knew he trusted her. She had been helping him learn how to interact with people. He had come a long way; though he still called her by that ridiculous nickname he had first used. Ugly.

Uchiha Sauske. Her former team mate. A name she really tried hard not to think about to much anymore but he was always in the back of her mind. How could he not be? He was the man she loved and hated at the same time. He was the reason Naruto was feeling so much pain. Naruto told her how Madra explained to him the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. It seemed like so long ago that Sauske left the village for Orochimaru to gain power all in the hopes to kill his brother. She had desperately clung to the hope that once he had accomplished that he would come home. Back to them. Foolish, childish dreams. Now that he had learned his brother, Uchiha Itachi, had killed his clan under orders from the village elders to prevent a war Sauske was hell bent on taking out Konoha. Naruto told Sauske, with Sakura and Kakashi there, that he understood his pain and would die with him to help shoulder his burden. How could Naruto do that? His goal has always been to become the Hokage. If anyone deserved a little happiness it was Naruto. He had been hated his whole life for something he had no control over; having the kuuybi sealed within him. His father, the fourth hokage, had sealed the demon in him shortly after he was born to protect the village. His wish was that the village would see him as a hero. Sadly that was not the case. Everyone thought of him as a demon. They took all of their pain from the deaths the kuuybi had caused out on Naruto. Slowly, that had begun to change. Naruto was being recognized. Now after Naruto defeated Pain, and by doing so resurrecting many of the villagers, he was a hero. People were no longer shunning him but praising him. She was so proud of him. That's why she did not want him to die so young. That's why she had attempted to take Sauske out herself, but... she couldn't do it. Even after all Sauske had done, after watching him use his own team mate as a shield, she stopped herself before she could put the posioned kunai into his back. She just couldn't bring herself to kill him....then. Now, after hearing Naruto's vow and hearing Sauske say he would take down Konoha, well, she didn't know what she'd do. She knew she would give her own life to protect the village she loved, she only hoped that she would have the strength to take the life of the man she loved to save it.


"Sakura!"

"Aaaa". she whipped her head around to see Sai calling to her. Kakashi-sensi was beside him, doing a little finger wave with his one visable eye closed. Great kunoichi I am. Thank kami it wasn't an enemy.  "Sorry. I was thinking about something."

"Must've been something important. Sai called your name a few times before you heard him." Kakashi said.

"Yeah. kinda. What are your two doing here anyway? I thought we were going to meet in Suna."

"Our mission was pretty simple." Kakashi began as he sat across from her. "It didn't take long to deliver that scroll. Surprisingly, we didn't run into any trouble."

"It seems everyone is busy with their own preparations for the war." Sai remarked without looking up from whatever he had been drawing. "Since we knew you were not finished yet we decided to come to the village and travel with you, but as you are here you must be finished."

"How did everything go?" Kakashi asked.

"Everything is fine now. I was able to devolp an anti-dote for the virus and it has been distributed to everyone. Thankfully I was able to coplete it before anyone else died. The village only lost the 4 people who had passed before I arrived. And no worries. It was not a contagious virus. It was a bacteria that was natrual for the environment in Earth country but it mutated."

"Environmental bacteria? Was there any chance you contracted it?" Sai asked.

"Even I did I already took a dose of the anti-dote myself just to be sure." Sakura re-marked as she began to pack up her supplies.

"Just as bright as you always were. You know Sakura, it is already being said that you will soon surpass Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said with a grin.

"Thanks sensi but I know I have long way to even be on par with shishou. After all she does have many years of experience over me. But don't tell her I said that." she grinned

Kakashi held his hand over his chest. "Do I look like I have a death wish?" he said dramatically.

They all laughed and stood up. " I suggest we take to the trees and start towards Suna. We've got 4 days until we reach it." Kakashi said.

"Tsunade-sama said she would be there in about that time too. She tols me in the letter that Naruto would be meeting us there. Do you know why sensei? I thought the kages agreed that killer-bee-san and Naruto would be placed into hiding to prevent Madra from getting to them." Sakura asked as they began running across the branches.

Kakashi glanced at her and was suddenly all business. "Something happened. Yamamoto sent me a message as well and explained it a little. It seems hiding them did not work out so well."

"Is Naruto okay?" Sai asked. Though his face betrayed nothing it was easy to tell he was worried because he forgoed calling Naruto dickless.

How he comes up with those stupid nicknames I'll never know. Sakura thought.

"Yes, he's okay and Yamamoto said Naruto had something else to surprise us with."

"Actually, I don't think I'll be too surprised." Sakura said. "It seems everytime Naruto goes anywhere he manages to make another unlikely friend or get stronger in training."

"Yes he does, doesn't he." Kakashi said. You could hear the pride in his voice when he spoke.

The group fell into silence as they launched themselves from branch to branch. Sakura was retreating into her own workd again. Just enjoying the feel of the wind through her pink hair as they traveled. Slightly praising herself for a job well done in the village she was leaving behind. It had been a difficult bacteria to counteract but she did it. She knew she was a damn good medic and she really enjoyed helping people. It was yet another way to create those important bonds between people and villages.

Sai glanced over to Sakura. She wasn't missing a step as they traveled but he could tell she was thinking of other things. Her eyes were not focused and she had a large smile on her face.He allowed a small smile himself. He was pleased with his friendship with Sakura...and Naruto. He had never had friends before. He could remember his brother from his childhood but only vaguely. The friendship he had with Naruto and Sakura still confused him sometimes but it was something he was glad to work on. He hoped they would remain friends a long time.

Only the normal sounds of the forest greeted their ears as they ran. The sun shining down on them, the wind blowing in their faces, all was peaceful.
That's when an explosion hit the trees on meters in front of them.


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