Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Wilting Blossoms ❯ A Resealing ( Chapter 2 )

Naruto bounded over to Sakura's residence early in the morning, a lighthearted feeling in him. `Last night I went on a date with Sakura-chan!' he thought while beaming ecstatically. True… it had gone different than he had thought dates usually went. In fact, it was pretty close to his usual routine of eating ramen, only with a girl next to him. But she said it was a date before they left, and that meant it was. A date with Sakura-chan! He found himself in front of her family's apartment.

 

Two knocks later, he found himself facing the sleep deprived face of Sakura's mother.

 

“Naruto-kun…” she said quickly, her eyes filled with worry. “You were with Sakura last night weren't you?”

 

“Oh hello Mrs. Haruno.” He bowed awkwardly. “Yeah… I just came over to see if she was available this morning.”

“She never came back home last night. I think I'm going to notify the Anbu… this just isn't like her.”

 

He felt his happiness evaporate, filled with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He had offered to walk her home… but she had talked him out of it. Somehow… somehow he just knew Sasuke was responsible. `What did that bastard do to her?' He turned and ran, ignoring the cries of Sakura's mother from behind him.

 

*****

 

Sasuke's apartment was utterly demolished. Naruto walked around the room cautiously, broken glass crunching underfoot. His first thoughts were that a fight had been fought in the room, but that theory quickly fell apart. There were no discarded weapons, no evidence of any jutsu being used, and no blood anywhere. The more Naruto thought about it, the more it seemed like the damage was inflicted by Sasuke ripping his room apart in anger. He sat down on the bed, his head pounding with knowledge of what this all might mean. He picked up a damaged picture frame which lay resting on the toppled dresser, examining its contents. The picture was of team seven, the same one that rested on his own nightstand. Kakashi smiled as best he could through his mask, Sakura had her hands clasped together and knelt in the front. Sasuke was busy looking angrily at the camera. All that remained of where he knew his own face should be in the picture was a large hole made by a kunai… as if someone had stabbed the picture straight through his face and obliterated him. The hand that held the picture frame trembled with anger. Naruto's voice, an unusual a deep rumble, growled through the room.

 

“Sasuke… I'll tear you apart.”

 

*****

 

Sakura flew through the forest with practiced ease, landing on branches for the barest of moments before launching herself into open air again. The sun was rising over the horizon in front of her, which meant they had been traveling for half a day. Her legs burned from exertion, though she knew that Sasuke was keeping an easy pace for her. They would travel east, they decided, towards Water Country. Sasuke told her of a Missing Nin from Water Country who traveled with his brother… a strange man with bluish skin. It was their only lead. They hadn't spoken it aloud, but they both knew that the route also took them nearly directly away from Hidden Sound Village, where Orochimaru was based.

 

As they had sat next to the cooking fire in awkward physical contact with each other, Sasuke had explained their strategy to her. She was one of the most talented ninjas in the village for detecting chakra, so she would travel behind him masking her presence, and watch for enemies. Hopefully pursuers would detect only him, and she would be able to alert him as they approached. He was putting a lot of trust in her, and she was determined to show him she was deserving.

 

She was probing the woods for enemies when she felt a blast of chakra ahead of her, strong enough to make her see only white for a moment. She could feel him ahead of her, falling… plummeting through the trees, towards the ground. Acting without thinking, she launched herself downward in a streak, closing the distance between herself and Sasuke, scooping him up as they fell. He was screaming in agony, clawing at his neck. The curse seal on his neck was blazing a searing crimson, crawling across his skin. She didn't have time to make a proper landing, so she rolled while clutching his body to her chest, taking the brunt of the blow to her shoulders and back. As they settled in the leaf-strewn ground, he shook free of her grasp, kneeling with his eyes wide with panic.

 

“Kakashi's seal…” was all he managed to choke out before another wave of pain ripped through him, doubling him over.

 

Her mind reeled as she stood frozen. Once again, the responsibility fell to her, and she wasn't able to do anything. She could only watch as Sasuke was in need of her help… and she… she couldn't think. Inner Sakura screamed at her, a scream so deafening it knocked her out of her transfixed inaction. Running to him, she acted without clear thought, her fingers passed through the intricate patterns a sealing jutsu. She grabbed the fabric of his shirt, ripping it halfway down the back, yanking down off his shoulder. She bit her thumb with a wince, using her blood to trace flowing characters, extending from the seal in four directions. He thrashed underneath her, still yelling, and she used her knees to pin him, distantly hearing herself swearing like Inner Sakura normally did inside her mind. Her face was a snarl of frustration and concentration, and she savagely bit her other thumb as her first one stopped bleeding profusely enough to write with. The characters, dredged from a far off memory, extended from the curse to point to his four limbs. With a final shout, she thrust her palm against the seal… and hoped.