4: The Scare
Sasuke headed out of the house; the old man had been a great help. Sasuke headed down to the bar in the dirtiest part of the village. It was where all the brainstorming supposedly started. Where they hung out before going on their little missions. He knew he didn’t have much time before he was going to have to head back and meet up with the others, but he felt something pulling him, like he had to check this out first.
The streets were like nothing he had ever seen. It was horrible; everything was covered in filth, from the people to the very shacks they lived in. He noticed how happy the children were though they would have every right to be angry and upset. They found the courage to smile, and it filled Sasuke with a renewed sense that hope still existed, that he could convince Sakura to take him back.
Opening the door to the bar, he saw that there were not very many people there, though there were a lot of voices coming from the back room.
Sakura was scared out of her mind. Her bare arms and legs were being held down by the filthy thugs that had taken her into the back room of the stingy bar while the leader had his hands all over her. He had removed her outer clothes and only her undergarments covered her. The guy was kissing her forcefully, and there was nothing Sakura could do to stop them. She couldn’t budge.
Suddenly, she was able to move her feet after some movement behind the guy that was all over her. She couldn’t see what was happening, but knew that someone was here for her. With her legs free, she swung them up and hit the guy where the sun don’t shine. He fell to the floor. Sakura then, with her very flexible body, smacked the guys holding her arms down with her feet and back flipped off the table.
Turning, she saw who her savior was: Sasuke Uchiha. Though she still hated his guts, she was very thankful he had saved her. Who knows what could have happened if he hadn’t shown up.
Sasuke reached and grabbed her arm and started pulling her after him, she yanked her arm free, grabbed her fallen clothes and raced after Sasuke. They ran until they met up with Naruto at their meeting place.
“Whoa, what happened?” Naruto asked as Sakura dressed herself. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her bare legs, her torso, her chest. Sasuke was also staring, though trying to be discreet about it.
Sakura looked up and smacked Naruto in the head. “You’re married, remember. Hinata.” Sakura folded her arms across her chest when she was clothed again.
Naruto rubbed his head, but changed the subject, “What happened?” he repeated glancing at the black eye, split lip, and lighter bruises along her arms.
“We ran into some heavy interference. I got a first hand experience on how messed up the Vibe actually is,” Sakura replied absently rubbing at her bruised arms.
Sasuke nodded, “Ya, and they have the whole city so scared that no one will speak out against them, they just tell people they don’t know anything. I found a guy that gave me a lead on where to find them, and that’s when I found you.”
“I had a good look at their faces, and the guy helping the leader, the one who punched me, was Gonzo. I didn’t recognize him at first because he was in the shadows. Bo was hanging back, but I didn‘t see Shauna.” Sakura told them.
Sasuke shook with anger, “That was the guy we’re after? If I’d have had a good look at him… I’m going back there to teach that jerk a lesson.” Sasuke turned and was about to head back down the way they had come.
Sakura grabbed his forearm, stopping him. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She shook her head. “Don’t. We don’t need to do anything reckless. Don’t go looking for a fight.” She let go once she was sure he wasn’t going to bolt.
“Sakura’s right. We can’t go looking for trouble. We need to devise a plan,“ Naruto nodded, so they all headed back down the street to find a decent place to stay at.
Sasuke’s mind was thrown into overdrive; he couldn’t stop thinking about Sakura. She could have died, and she wouldn’t have known his true feeling for her. He would go find her, tell her everything that he felt. She would probably laugh in her face, but it would be worth the risk. If he didn’t try, he would always wonder what could have happened.
Sitting up, he saw that Sakura sat at the river’s edge by herself. Naruto was sound asleep next to the small fire. The Vibe had ordered the towns people to not let them stay anywhere, so the three of them were forced to camp out a just outside the village.
Sasuke stood and walked silently behind Sakura. She didn’t move, just stared off into the water. Taking her silence as a good thing, Sasuke sat next to her, hoping desperately that she would at least acknowledge that he was there, maybe even talk to him.
Sakura didn’t say anything to him, nor did she flinch when he sat next to her. She didn’t move at all.
“Look, Sakura, we need to talk,” Sasuke started, not sure how to tell her everything on his mind. How should he continue? Taking a deep breath, he continued, “I want to apologize for how I acted when we were younger. I was a jerk, and I don’t know what my problem was.”
Sakura finally turned to stare at me. Tears streaked her flawless face. “I can tell you what your problem was. You were conceited, selfish, and a complete jerk! You didn’t care about anything but yourself. Oh- I was wrong. You only cared about getting stronger and killing your brother.” She shrugged, anger dripping ravenously from her words. “You just didn’t have time for anything else, no matter how much people were trying to help you!”
“I know, I know, and I wish I could take it all back, but the truth is I’m sorry. I want to make it up to you,” Sasuke struggled for words. He wasn’t used to saying sentimental things to anyone.
“Oh? You’ll make it up to me? Oh, goodie!” Sakura smiled mockingly, feinting happiness, though he knew she was far from happy. “Sasuke, you can’t just come back and expect me to forgive you. Do you have any idea what you put me through? You left me unconscious on a park bench! You knocked me out! You left me, not the other way around! I’m not going to forgive you!”
“But, if you’d just give me a chance, I can-”
“No!” she practically screamed. Naruto stirred in his sleep. “If we were twelve again, you’d probably get your way, but I’m not that weak, pathetic little kid anymore. Your Uchiha charm isn’t going to get you out of this one. Not this time.”
“Please-”
“Sasuke, quite frankly, you’re annoying!” With that, Sakura stood up and walked over to her sleeping bag and crawled inside, turning her back to him.
Sasuke sulked quietly where Sakura had left him. He never knew someone could hurt this much, that someone could make him hurt this much inside. He had never given his heart to anyone before, and now, it seemed it was too late. Sakura hated his guts, and he thought she was going to slap him when they were arguing.
She had used the same sentence he had given her, those many many years ago. He never would have guessed that it had stung this bad. Was this what she felt over and over again, each time he rejected her feeble attempts to catch his heart. Little did they know, she had, and he hated feeling this weak, this vulnerable. Sakura was his whole world now, and he would give his life for her, why couldn’t she see that? Couldn’t she see the love emanating from his eyes? Or, were his eyes too cold to feel anything else?
He understood her anger, and that hurt him even more. It was his own fault she hated him. He had left her, he had rejected her time and time again, he was the one who had never given her a chance; and now he just expected her to give in with a snap of his fingers? She was stronger than that, and he knew it.
Sighing, he wondered just how he was going to make this right again. She deserved so much better than him, but the thought that she would end up with someone else repulsed him. He could picture their future together; he had it all sketched out in his mind, but without Sakura, the whole picture would crumble. He loved her, and at one point in time, she had loved him. Could he bring that love back out of her again? He certainly hoped so.
The next morning, Sakura awoke as the sun’s warm rays danced over her skin. Blinking a few times, she sat up and looked around. Naruto was sleeping in the sleeping bag next to her, and Sasuke was leaning against a tree, near the stream- exactly where she had left him, sound asleep.
Sakura sighed as she ran her hands through her knotty hair. She knew she should hear Sasuke out, but she was afraid to, afraid of what he would tell her. What if she gave in and the two dated. Sasuke would eventually leave her broken hearted again. Would he knock her unconscious before he left too?
Sakura knew she was being unfair, but she couldn’t help it. He had hurt her too much for her to just drop everything for him. She wasn’t twelve anymore. She knew she should thank Sasuke for saving her back in the village, but her pride got in the way every time she attempted it. She hated that she had had to rely on Sasuke to save her, but everyone needed a little help now and then.
She stood and started folding her sleeping bag and shoving it into her backpack. She hated to wake them when they were sleeping so soundly, but they needed to get going. The sooner they got going, the sooner she could get home and help her mother again. She wondered how her mother was doing.
“Naruto, wake up,” she shook his shoulder gently. He went on snoring. Sakura resorted to slapping his cheeks softly. “Come on. Wake up! Naruto!” He just swatted her hand away and rolled away from her.
Sighing, she went to the stream and filled her water bottle full. Walking back to Naruto, she gently kicked Sasuke awake. Crouching next to Naruto, she dumped the water on his face. Sputtering, he jumped up looking for the culprit.
“Sorry, but I tried everything else, but nothing else worked,” Sakura grinned sheepishly. “But it was a hoot!”
As they were packing up their camp, suddenly Shizune and Tsunade rushed into the clearing. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke exchanged confused looks. “Granny Tsunade, why are you here?” Naruto asked startled.
“Quick, Sakura. Your mother isn’t doing too good. You need to come back. I don’t think she has a lot of time left,” Tsunade answered in a rush, eager to get back home, obviously.
Sakura snapped awake and raced forward. Tsunade falling in step behind her. Shizune turned to the boys, “I’m going to help you finish this mission,” she told them as she helped them pack up.
“I thought you had to go on a separate mission,” Sasuke told her, confusion all over his face.
“Huh? Oh… I, uh, got over it pretty fast, it was easy with the whole team with me,” she replied absentminded.
“Naruto, will you come help me with the water?” Sasuke asked, nodding at Shizune’s answer.
“Uh, sure,” Naruto nodded, not sure why Sasuke needed help with getting water.
Once they were out of ear shot, Sasuke turned to Naruto and spoke in a whisper, “That’s not Shizune. Shizune had to do a mission by herself. She had to go pay off some of the debts Tsunade had from the past. It would take her a few days to get there, and she left right after us. There is no way she’s back yet.”
“Then, who is she?” Naruto asked, agreeing with Sasuke’s explanation.
“I don’t know, but if Shizune isn’t the real deal, than neither is Tsunade,” Sasuke replied.
“Sakura!” Naruto exclaimed realizing the danger she was in.
“I’ll go after Sakura. You can take care of the imposter by yourself, right?” Sasuke suggested.
“No problem. Believe it!” Naruto nodded.
Sasuke gave him a curt nod and took off after Sakura and the imposter Tsunade. Was it already too late? Had Sakura realized that it wasn’t really Tsunade yet?
