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Infatuated-Simplicity
Author of 40 Stories |
Author's Note: I should say that I am sorry about the chapter delay, and trust me I am, but I couldn't update until now. I will try to get another chapter out in the next few days but after that I don't know when I will be able to update again. I do know that I will be finishing this story this summer even if all I do is type. And yes i do realize that Tsunade is a little OOC but she is not a main character in this story and she will soon fade into the background. Kakashi will still be an active participant. As far as Sasuke goes, I think I have kept him in character.
Summary: When dealing with the mystery that is life Sakura finds that it is best to experiment with what you have and look forward to the gifts that lie ahead. NejiXSakura.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters with in it, and all that good stuff that is supposed to go in this section.
She took a deep breath as she walked down the path towards the meeting with Oto. Her two advisors were already there. Neji stood on the right and Shikamaru stood on the left. Both were in full ANBU gear with their masks in place. Sakura was also in her ANBU gear, or at least her version of it, and they made quite the trio with their masks; the grinning panther, the solemn hawk, and the snarling wolf.
With a nod to both the three strode down the path towards the negotiations where the Oto representatives waited. It didn't take long for Sakura to recognize two of them. The three representatives were placed in the same formation as her team, the leader slightly in front.
The one she didn't recognize was in line with Shikamaru. Other than the fact that the man's hair was blue the only other feature that was defining was the very large and familiar sword that adorned his back.
The man in line with Neji was a face she knew all too well. The glasses were a dead give away and the grey ponytail didn't make him any less recognizable. Although this was the medic she knew, Kabuto seemed slightly pale and it was obvious that he was still recovering from something, and it was probably not the injuries she had inflicted on him that he was recovering from.
The third man was the one she has been hoping to avoid, but perhaps it was better that this reunion got out of the way first. Sasuke looked the same; black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. He was taller now and there was something very sinister about him that Sakura couldn't put her finger on. But perhaps that had always been there and she had been too wrapped up in him to notice. She straightened her shoulders and decided that no matter what he threw at her she would remain dignified and strong. She would not melt at the sight of him and she would be confidant in her choice to move on. She didn't need Sasuke. Someone better wanted her and she loved him.
With a quick glance to Neji she found the Hyuuga prodigy sending a small reassuring glance her way. She smiled behind her mask and then quickly removed it from her face. Now was not the time to be romantic. Neji seemed to think the same thing because he had stopped looking in her direction.
The closer they got to the three Oto representatives the quieter things got. They walked through the gates of Konoha and then stopped. The three sound nin were about ten feet from them when Sasuke moved forwards.
"I like to see who I'm speaking to. Remove your masks. It's common courtsey," he said in a deep voice, one that wasn't familiar to Sakura's ears, but she could hear remnants of his childhood voice still there.
With a nod to each of her companions they began to remove their masks. Shikamaru's mask fell first and not long after that Neji's hawk mask hung around his neck. With a sigh Sakura allowed her mask to fall around her neck. A hungry look passed Sasuke's features and was quickly pushed behind his usual cold faГade. His customary smirk was evident as he took the sight of her in.
"Sakura..." he said as Kabuto rolled his eyes behind his glasses. It was no secret to Kabuto how Sasuke felt about the woman in front of them and he wouldn't have been surprised if the majority of Otogakure knew too.
"Uchiha Sasuke, where is the Otokage and why has he not presented himself?" Sakura asked, in an all business manner. Instead of receiving an answer from her old team mate, who simply looked at her with a bit of surprise showing through is cool faГade, Kabuto provided it after a few moments of awkward silence on Sakura's part and awkward staring on Sasuke's.
"Orochimaru-sama felt it would be better to send his second in command in his stead seeing as though your Hokage was unable to join us today." He ended with a smirk and it was all Sakura could do to keep herself from beating the man. The idea that Kabuto could have won a fair fight with her shishou was perposterous but regardless he was the reason she was in the hospital at that very moment and the twisted little man obviously found pleasure in that fact.
"And he didn't send you as his second? Well, that's no surprise." Came the lazy drawl of Shikamaru who only grinned as the medics glasses glinted in his direction.
The tension was building and Sakura knew that it would only be a matter of time before one of them lost it and attacked the other side.
"Sasuke, introduce us to the man on your left. After all it's common courtesy." She sated and watched as an elegant black eyebrow rose in surprise. But Sasuke needn't have bothered. The man wielding the sword cleared his throat.
"The name is Hozuki Suigetsu." Sakura nodded in recognition. She had seen him in one of the more recent Bingo books. in the back of her mind she registered a few chakra signatures approaching quickly from the west.
"Do you have terms?" she asked and was once again answered by the be-speckled medic.
"Sasuke-sama and Orochimaru-sama have both agreed that Otogakure will only with hold attacks if two requirements are met. The first of those is the retrieval of scrolls from within the Hokage's office that were left behind by Orochimaru-sama upon his abrupt flight from Konoha. The second and more important requirement is that you, Sakura-chan, will accompany us back to Otogakure and perform any operations that Orochimaru-sama deems necessary."
Not one of Konoha's representatives was willing to concede to the second requirement if Shikamaru's frown and Neji's glare were anything to go by. The earth seemed to be agreeing with them because the dust picked up swirled around in a manner that she had seen before. Sakura opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Sasuke.
"Sakura will also be performing duties as the Uchiha clan matriarch should she choose to save Konoha from war."
No sooner had the words left Sasuke's mouth did four other voices fill the air with a unanimous answer.
"Absolutely not."
The first voice was that of Kakashi, firm and fatherly, standing behind her. The second was a yell that had come from her right somewhere behind Neji and was all too identifiable as Naruto's voice. The third was a deep gravely voice which explained how Naruto and Kakashi had gotten home so soon. Gaara must have gotten impatient. The last voice was the one that rang out the most and even over shadowed Naruto's shout due to it's depth and hostility.
Byakugan activated, Neji was staring Sasuke down ready to attack if the dark haired shinobi took a step closer to Sakura. Neji took her hand and held it within his own.
Sasuke looked at their joined hands with disgust and then took a step back.
"Whether you come to me now or when the battle is over is up to you Sakura, but you will come to me," he said with a glare sent in Neji's direction. He turned to Kabuto. "Prepare for battle. The troops will need a day. Konoha has decided."
That said, the three Oto nins disappeared into the woods. As soon as they were out of sight Sakura was crushed by a bear hug and she could feel a hand ruffling her hair.
"Sakura-chan! We made it back early! We didn't stop once..." He would have kept going but Sakura managed to wiggle and arm free and hit him over the head.
"I missed you too Naruto, Kakashi. Come on Naruto, let me go so you can see Tsunade-shishou. We have some important news for you."
With that the whole troop of them entered the gates as they firmly closed behind them.
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"Haha! Yeah! In your face Teme! I'm Rokudaime Hokage!!!" Sakura couldn't help but laugh as she watched Naruto dance around Tsunade's hospital room, the older woman glowing with pride.
The room of powerful shinobi looked at the hyper blond with fondness for a few moments as he continued to gloat. But they didn't have much time and so his moment of celebration was to be postponed.
"Alright you brat, down to business," Tsunade said in a firm tone drawing everyones attention back to the impending war. "What were the terms Oto set?"
Neji stepped forward closer to Sakura.
"They wanted Orochimaru's scrolls concerning his experiments returned and they wanted Sakura." Tsunade blinked a few times in surprise at his blunt statement and then began to chuckle which soon increased to full out laughter. Soon she was whipping tears from her eyes and clutching her stomach. Sakura had thought about it on the walk back and as much as she didn't want to go to Oto, if it kept Konoha safe then she would do it.
"Shishou, perhaps you should consider the proposition. It would avoid war and I can always escape..." Sakura's voice drifted off as Neji placed an arm around her waist and Tsunade looked at her, all her laughter a thing of the past.
"I would never hand you over to that Uchiha to be his baby breeder nor will I allow Orochimaru to use to to his benefit. I have faith in your skills Sakura but it would take even you some time to get out of their clutches. It is out of the question. I need you here and more importantly no one else in this room would let me give you to them. And you know as well as I do that they would have attacked us after they got you anyway. Now for the battle plans... Shizune tells me that you and Shikamaru have handled just about everything." Sakura nodded as Shikamaru brought forth a large scroll. Tsunade turned to Naruto and beckoned him over with a small grin.
"Naruto, I have chosen you as my replacement and successor. I know that I should be the one to head this war but I feel that it would be best if you team up with Sakura to complete what she has started. When I am well enough, which should be in the next two days, I will be head of the medical squad. But as for now it is time to choose your squad leaders," Tsunade said as she sat up on her bed and looked at the list of ANBU and elite jounin members that had been placed in front of her. Naruto moved to look at the paper and for a while the room was silent as he though.
"Well, I know a few of them for sure," he said at last. "I'll need to see the number of teams and who is in each to decide who to make leader of each squad."
Shikamaru stepped forward with a scroll in his hand and placed it on the bed before turning back to Temari who was all too pleased to have the genius by her side. After another few minutes of Naruto making faces at the paper and dancing around trying to concentrate he sighed and simply handed the scroll to Sakura in an I-give-up fashion.
"You worked on it. I don't know what the hell I'm doing so you take it!" Naruto said as Sakura grinned at him. "Sakura-chan is smarter than me anyway." He added as a side note and semi excuse.
"First I think we should know where you stand on this matter Gaara. Will the Kazekage give Konoha his support?" The two pairs of green eyes met and there was an understanding that the question hadn't been needed.
"Of course. I will send for my elite squads," he said before exiting the room quietly.
"Alright then. Now, the squads have been assembled as regular teams. Every ninja chuunin and above will be placed on the battle field. Genin that have shown the skill and aptitude for fighting will be placed in the rear but most of them will be assigned to helping the medical team." Sakura paused as she wrote down instructions on a slip of paper and then rang Tsunade's bell. seconds later Kotetsu ran in and ran back out, slip of paper in hand.
"Now for the leaders of each team... I think it would be best for each team leader to lead two regular size teams, one high level team and one support team. There are not enough ANBU and elite jounin around for each of us to take one team. There is no doubt in my mind that Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto will wait to head into battle, Kabuto being the first to go in and Orochimaru the last. Thus we will act in kind. Naruto, Gaara, Neji, and Shikamaru will watch and guide troops from above we will use Konoha's walls to our advantage and you will direct the squads from there." She jotted names down on another piece of paper and rang the bell once more. This time it was Izumo that answered her call.
"Inform these shinobi that they have been chosen as squad leaders. They are to pass by the Hokage's office immediately to get their teams and positions. Inform Jiraiya-sama and Hyuuga-sama that I would like to speak with them as soon as possible. Dismissed." Tsunade watched Sakura go about her duty with pride. Then she noticed that Naruto was still standing by her shoulder.
"Well? Get going you brat! Sakura did all the work, all you have to do is assign people to their positions. Move it!"
"I'm going Baa-chan! Calm down!"
It had taken some effort but Sasuke had managed to find a small clearing in order to think by himself. It had taken a few hours to do so simply because of the impending war. Everyone seemed to need his help with something and Orochimaru wouldn't leave him alone. No doubt Karin would soon come looking for him but until then he needed to think some things over.
He hadn't expected her to be different. Well, he had hoped that she would grow in strength and beauty, which she did, but he still wanted her to have the same affections that she had held as a twelve-year-old girl. The concept was foolish, he knew, but he hoped for it none the less.
Regardless of her changes she would still make an excellent Uchiha matriarch. In fact she would be a better one now than ever before but the problem lay in where her loyalties resided.
He knew she would always be loyal to Konoha on some scale. When he left the village she was willing to put those loyalties aside for the change to be loyal to him. Now he wasn't so sure if that would be the case, and if the way the Hyuuga had responded to the idea of her being taken away was any clue then it was most certainly not the case.
She had built stronger relationships with the people of Konoha and built a life for herself there. Konoha and more importantly the people living with in Konoha were now more important to her than he was. She would protect her friends, Kakashi, Naruto, and Tsunade with her life. He sneered at the though but he knew he should add the Hyuuga to the list.
That damn Hyuuga Neji had stolen his Sakura away while he wasn't looking. He let out a long sigh as he admitted to himself that if it hadn't been the Hyuuga it probably would have been Gaara, or maybe even Naruto (though the chance was slim).
And to think he could have simply carried her away as soon as she exited the gates earlier that morning. She could have been with him right now, right this very second, if it hadn't been for his procrastination. Not only that but he had wanted her to come willingly. He didn't want to have to force her to stand beside him, but it seemed as though force was now his only option.
If only he could talk to her alone and see how much she cared for the Byakugan wielder. It didn't really matter how much in love she was he just wanted to know how hard he would have to work in order to gain her affections back.
And he would. He just needed time.
But time was the one thing he really didn't have as he was reminded of the army readying itself not to far away from him. He would have to speak with her tonight.
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"And this is why I didn't want to be Hokage." Neji watched as his exhausted, and now pajama clad, girlfriend sunk down next to him on the couch having just cleaned the dishes from dinner. He pulled her closer so he could rest his cheek against her soft pink hair.
"I think you would have done a great job as Hokage considering how well you've done so far. Konoha wouldn't have been ready for this war with out you and Shikamaru." She smiled and snuggled further into his embrace.
"Well, I think Naruto will eventually get this whole thing right. Or maybe not... but then that's part of Naruto's success. He always does things his own way and it tends to turn out right. Besides he has Gaara and Tsunade-shishou to look out for him and show him the basics of being a Kage." Neji shook his head. He could see it already. Tsunade and Gaara would both try to kill the boy within a week if not sooner than that.
"I feel sorry for Gaara. There is only so much of Naruto a person can take." Sakura giggled as he took her hand in his. They remained silent as Neji rubbed circles on her palm, occasionally moving to the inside of her wrist. The reality of the situation slowly dawned upon them and eventually Sakura understood what the aching that had slowly built in her chest was from. It had rooted itself within her sometime this afternoon and slowly built until she could no longer ignore it.
Sakura turned to face him and placed her free hand on his jaw.
"Stay with me tonight. Please?" She searched his eyes hoping he would stay, hoping he understood the anxiety and the desperation she was feeling. Tomorrow would bring war and anything could happen. She wanted to spend every minute she could with him until it was time to fight.
He leaned down and brushed her lips with his before engulfing her in a warm embrace. He lifted her and then made his way towards her room. He placed her under the covers and removed his outer clothing until only his boxers remained. He slid in next to her and grinned as he felt her arms wrap around his waist.
"Let's get some sleep. I'll be here in the morning." He kissed her and watched as her green eyes drifted shut.
Tomorrow is going to come too soon, he thought as he too drifted off to sleep unaware of the three eyes watching them in jealousy.
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