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Avenger'S Destiny: Chapter 25 by ~aria-arissa:iconaria-arissa:

Categories Fan Art > Fan Fiction


Chapter 25 – Pain

二十五 – 疼

“UGH<!”

Kakashi was protected from the crashing sword by his own kunai, but suffered the brunt of the brute force, hurtling sideways and shoving right into the surprised cherry blossom.

Both toppled from their precarious position atop the branch and plummeted to the ground – which was a pretty long way down. Lucky for them, Konoha’s forest grounds were usually covered in dry leaves that managed to cushion the fall, awarding them only a few scratches and bruises. Having always been taught to land sideways when falling didn’t hurt, either.

As the two shinobis regained their composure and leapt back up to join the fight, the rest of the team had already sprung into action. Several of them, like the Hyuugas and Sasuke, were fully prepared, but the rest were not too graceful for the first few moments facing their surprise enemy.

A shinobi, however, learns that many things can happen in only a few moments – and that those ‘few’ moments can cost a precious life. Already they had cuts and grazes all over, thanks to the weapons used in the ambush.

Neji swore under his breath, never mind the Hyuuga policy of being a gentleman at all times. Taking down two of the masked enemy efficiently, the prodigy berated himself for not having paid more attention to the ninjas hidden among the trees. He’d assumed that they were simply one of Konoha’s gate patrols, but he was wrong. Now, the enemy had the element of surprise, and therefore, the upper hand.

Naruto easily took out four men with a rapid succession of combined punches and kicks, while Sakura covered his and Sasuke’s back, dealing sharp blows to the base of their necks with the side of her hand, rendering them unconscious.

Sasuke almost looked bored. Watching him from the corner of her eye, Sakura wondered how they ever defeated him, in a manner of speaking. He made this fight looked so damned easy!

“Who’s got the scrolls?” the man who had first attacked demanded gruffly, distinguishing himself further as the leader of their attackers. Big mistake. He would be sitting in Konoha’s interrogation cell later, if the team of shinobis had anything to say about it.

Meanwhile, they stayed quiet, not giving Sakura away. The longer the enemy couldn’t locate what they wanted, the better. Gaara was keeping them at bay with constant waves of sand at their feet, but several managed to penetrate the obstruction.

“It’s the pink-haired girl! She’s one of the jinchuuriki!” one of the masked attackers suddenly shouted, pointing at Sakura. She froze for a momentary second before shoving her knee into his stomach. He flew into oblivion.

‘How did they know that…?’ she thought grimly, preparing for a full onslaught of attacks in her direction.

As luck would have it, someone else shouted at that very moment.

“No, it’s the Hyuuga, their captain! I overheard some Jounin talking about it yesterday night!” yelled the scrawny man, brandishing his weapon rather unnecessarily. He sounded extremely proud of himself.

‘Too much ego?’ Sakura thought. Well, at least she was out of trouble for the moment - Neji was definitely more competent at handling a whole bunch of the enemy with his kaiten - and she wasn’t complaining.

The man’s word about his ‘information’ obtained from several Jounins seemed to be all the reassurance the enemy team needed. All at once, they changed course, charging at the stoic captain instead – which was, quite obviously, a huge mistake. Any nut with a brain would know that Hyuugas excelled in close combat.

“Kaiten!”

Ten men were thrown backwards by the sheer force of the spinning chakra sphere, five were out cold. Neji’s killer glare sent the other five scrambling backwards.

“I suggest you get lost before I lose my temper. None of us have whatever scrolls you’re looking for – our mission objective was to retrieve the Uchiha,” the Hyuuga’s voice rang out clearly, opaque eyes narrowed.

‘Smooth,’ Tenten thought, trying not to smirk. For a prodigy who could see through anyone else’s lie, it was ironic that he should lie himself.

“He’s lying!” the leader spurred his men on.

Chaos ensued, everyone plunged into battle with fresh fervor. Their enemies, if judged by skill, never stood a chance – some of them fought worse than genins. But they had the advantage of numbers.

Sakura’s fist slammed into one of her attackers, the well-aimed punch sending him crashing into several others. She was increasingly conscious of the scroll in her backpack, fearing that at any moment, it might be taken from her.

Heck, she didn’t even know why she was so concerned. She hadn’t wanted to be involved in the first place, had she?

The cherry blossom could vaguely see Sasuke, Naruto and Sai, now covering her back, protecting her and fighting off the enemy with ease that only ‘her’ boys were capable of. Several men flinched at seeing the Uchiha in battle, but charged towards him anyway. The next moment, they were out.

Sakura gritted her teeth, finding herself fighting next to the weapons’ mistress. Tenten signaled to her, and Sakura swiftly grabbed her friend by the shoulders and swung the brown-haired kunoichi in a wide arc, while Tenten delivered powerful kicks, dispersing of the enemy quickly.

“Put your heart into it, Sakura! You’re not focusing!” Tenten hissed at her friend anxiously after she had landed. Sakura’s attacks lacked the viciousness they once had, the spirit that made her strong in combat.

The pink-haired kunoichi knew that she was way too preoccupied with worries to concentrate on this fight – they were so close to home, why now? Sakura was sick of always being the target, sick of being in the center of attention, and all she wanted to do was to go home and sleep. Yet even that seemed to be too much to ask for. She punched one man with uncontrolled ferocity to vent her frustration, and he slammed into a nearby tree. He would be suffering quite a number of broken bones, and the terrifying fact was Sakura’s realization that she didn’t care anymore.

Just when the shinobis thought that the fight was going nowhere, they were alerted to a sudden presence by a familiar, ringing voice.

“Hey you! Looking for these?”

Most heads glanced upwards. Genma had spoken. He was tossing a scroll in one hand, holding another, Kurenai, Kotetsu and Izumo were next to him on the branch, while a group of ANBU had completely surrounded the team and their attackers.

There was momentary confusion as the masked men attempted to scramble away, to escape capture, and in the midst of all that, Sakura spotted one of the enemy leaping down upon the distracted loudmouth Naruto. She leapt upwards swiftly without a thought, preparing to deliver a downward kick.

She managed the kick, but in her unfocused state of mind, judged the man’s retaliation wrongly. He twisted to attack her, and both falling man and kunoichi crashed into each other in mid-air, tumbling down rapidly.

Sakura nearly screamed with a sharp, blinding pain shot through her right foot and up her leg. She’d crash-landed on the wrong angle and twisted her ankle. Badly. Clenching her teeth, she attempted to stand, only to find that her foot was utterly useless. Beneath her, Naruto’s attacker was unconscious, Sakura having fallen on top of him.

‘Great,’ she thought bitterly. Now she was an open target, and that was just what she needed. The cherry blossom tried not to make a sound as not to draw any attention – but realized, to her horror, that her eyes were quickly losing focus. There was too much pain, and the stab wounds from her last encounter with Itachi were only semi-healed to save chakra. This situation was really bad.

No one else had noticed her nasty fall, they were too busy looking at Genma.

“Come get the scrolls, you incompetent bums, isn’t that what you wanted all along?” Genma called out mockingly while Kurenai discreetly signaled to the rest of the ANBU team behind her.

The battle had paused, and everyone watched with bated breaths. All except for Sakura, who had enough to do just fighting to stay conscious.

“Hand over the scrolls,” A quiet, gruff voice broke the silence. Sakura raised a kunai to her neck swiftly out of pure instinct. Metal clashed, the man gripped Sakura by the shoulder while his other hand trained his sword, poised at her throat. Only her kunai was shielding her from certain death now, and even then, her grip and strength were slipping with her consciousness.

The shinobis were frozen. How could they not have noticed?

“She’s losing her grip, don’t count on her being able to overpower me. Hand those scrolls over or I’ll kill her,” the man said evenly. He meant business, that much they could tell. No one was behind him to be able to threaten him, and in any case, if they moved, Sakura would lose her life. Even if they could be faster than the man, they could not risk it.

Genma noticed the vital symptoms of someone about to pass out. Sakura’s eyes were unfocused and her whole body was going limp, and the kunai was sliding against the man’s sword.

He weighed his options quickly. The scrolls were not the issue – Sakura’s life was. He could hand over the two scrolls anytime, they were fakes, but if he did and the man checked, realizing that he’d been cheated with blank scrolls, he would kill Sakura. If Genma didn’t hand the scrolls over, Sakura would die.

There was no win-win situation. But maybe luck would be on their side.

“Hurry up!” the man threatened. The sword had almost slipped to the tip of the kunai now, and beads of perspiration due to the man’s anxiousness trickled down his face.

Genma was about to toss the scrolls over when, in a sudden blur of movement, the man yelped and was thrown forwards, sword and all. A blonde-haired woman with piercing hazel eyes stepped forward, looking angry. Or scary.

“I did not just hear you threaten my apprentice!”

Behind her, Sakura felt a wave of relief washing over her, before she allowed herself to slowly succumb to the blissful darkness.

“Tsunade… sama…” came her shaky, ragged whisper.

Then her world went black.

N

The cherry blossom drifted in and out of consciousness, sometimes catching sight of the white hospital ceiling, occasionally glimpsing the worried faces of her mentor and friends, before falling back into the dark, blank abyss of unconsciousness.

Jumbled thoughts flashed through her tired mind as she slept, none making sense. Darkness enveloped her world like a blanket, sometimes comforting, sometimes frightening. She would dream of all that happened on the mission, having nightmares about how different things could have turned out… how, perhaps, all her friends could have died for her, or worse still, by her hand.

Alone… she felt so isolated. Some thoughts and memories came out clearer than the rest. Sakura found herself remember Sasuke leaving, her parents dying. Yuki’s pale face, as he was about to succumb to death. His last words.

“Hug… me… nee-chan…”

“YUKI!”

The pink-haired kunoichi bolted upright in bed, and found herself nearly blinded by the sudden presence of intense light. Her body was rigid, shivering uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her face in torrents.

“Sakura…?”

The girl bit her lip, trying to stem the flow of tears. Tenten stood there, frozen in total shock and staring at her pink-haired friend. Then Sakura gasped as the weapons’ mistress threw her arms around the cherry blossom, laughing and sobbing at the same time.

“Ten… ten…?” Sakura whispered haltingly, still in a groggy state.

“We were so worried… you hit your head when you collapsed and fell from the branch, and Tsunade-sama told us you might have had a concussion…” at this, Tenten drew back quickly still holding Sakura’s shoulders, staring at her concernedly. “You are fine, aren’t you? You remember everything? Like your hair colour? And Naruto’s favourite food?”

“It’s kind of hard to forget that,” Sakura commented dryly, feeling more like her old self again. Her mind ran a systems check on instinct, and she felt okay, save for the fact that she required a little more rest for her internal wounds to heal completely.

“I think… I’m fine,” the cherry blossom spoke more seriously, slowly.

Tenten heaved a quiet sigh of relief. “Thank kami-sama…the whole village was nearly thrown into chaos when we rushed in, Tsunade-sama carrying you with the Uchiha behind and us surrounding him, you know?”

Sakura’s brain took awhile to register those words. Tenten continued.

“Everyone thought that he’d killed you when they saw us, and Hokage-sama’s grim face. But Sasuke never flinched, he just kept on walking… and after Tsunade-sama completed your minor operations, he stayed right next to you, every single day. Wouldn’t budge, and even when a whole squad of ANBU came in to detain him, he sealed the room so that no one could get it,”

The medic nin looked up at her friend in surprise. Tenten merely smiled.

Sakura looked blank for a moment. “How long…?”

She was almost afraid of the answer.

“A week. You’ve been out cold, drifting back occasionally and calling Yuki’s name in your sleep…” Tenten tilted her head sideways with concern. “Anyway, you should see the amount of gifts you received – your friends, patients, the works…” the weapons mistress suddenly grinned, pulling open the curtains of the next bed.

Cards, flowers and presents of various shapes and sizes tumbled down, the bright colours seemingly illuminating the room with their own light. Sakura blinked and spared them a glance, trying to remember a question she wanted to ask.

“Sasuke shoved them there, they were originally by your beside table. According to Naruto, ‘the teme said that all the colours were blinding him’,” Tenten unsuccessfully tried to suppress a smile

Sakura jolted, remember her question. “Sasuke – where is he now? Is he okay?”

“Aren’t you ever the concerned one…” Tenten teased. “He was here until an hour ago, the village elders insisted that he attend a hearing so that they could decide on what to do with him – Sasuke got so tired of their pestering he went. I actually think that’s just a stupid excuse of the elders to make it look like they’re doing something,”

The cherry blossom was already out of bed, pulling off the tubes connected to her torso and arms. “Where’s the place?”

“But – you can’t – you’re not healed yet!”

“Try me,” Sakura said dangerously. “Where is the place, Tenten?” She quickly slipped out of her hospital gown and snatched up some proper clothes from the bedside table, putting them on. Her stare was unwavering.

“N-next to the Hokage Tower!” Tenten stammered, surprised.

Sakura bolted out of the room. Tenten swore at her own stupidity before bolting out after her friend. Tsunade would be killing her later. Not to mention the rest of the males in Team 7.

“Sakura!”

N

“Uchiha Sasuke, isn’t it?” the stately, haughty old man stood, adjusting his council robes. It took all of Sasuke’s willpower not to get up and strangle every single one of those smug-looking old geezers. It wasn’t as if they didn’t already know his name.

“I believe your counterparts have already asked me that question five times over,” the raven-haired boy closed his eyes and answered in a bored tone, feeling a vein twitch. It’d been over an hour, and none of these fools had asked a question that actually meant something.

“Do you enjoy being back in Konoha, Uchiha?”

“I’m afraid I cannot answer that question,”

“Are your friends happy to have you back?”

“That would be entirely up to them,”

“I’ve heard that you like tomatoes, Sasuke. Is it true?”

twitch “That’s none of your business,”

Pointless. All of them. The last question had been asked by a woman that was probably over seventy and still looked like a giddy fangirl. Sasuke shuddered involuntarily.

He suddenly decided that if this elder was going to act like the rest, he would leave. Never mind Sakura killing him when she woke up.

If she ever did. Sasuke forced his train of thought elsewhere.

She was unconscious now, and the last thing he had done was to snap at her. Bitter irony.

Somewhere across the room, Tsunade sat next to the jury box, her arms and legs crossed, her eyes closed. She looked like she was sleeping. But Sasuke knew better, he could read people well. The Godaime Hokage was, in a way, a dormant volcano waiting to blow at the idiots questioning him.

The Uchiha hid a slight smirk.

“Uchiha Sasuke…” the old man drew out his name, flipping through some papers. “Five years ago, you betrayed Konoha and joined Orochimaru,”

“I did not betray Konoha,” came his quiet, firm reply.

“Your definition of that statement?”

“My leaving was in pursuit of personal goals. I did not exploit or betray any of Konoha’s secrets or information to Otogakure,” Sasuke spoke straight to the point, in a nonchalant tone, his arms crossed and his face cast down with a blank expression.

“So you have never revealed anything about Konoha to our enemies?”

The only reply he gave was a slight shake of his head.

“But the fact remains that you allied with one of our enemies,”

“I did not deny that,”

The elder peered at Sasuke over the glasses perched on his nose.

“And what, exactly, made you come back? Defeat? Embarrassment?” he questioned. “Or perhaps – lo-“

“That question is out of bounds,” Tsunade’s voice sounded sharply even through she did not open her eyes or move.

Sasuke let the ghost of a smile flit across his face.

“Very well,” the elder looked disgruntled, but continued grudgingly. “My next question – have you ever killed for Orochimaru?”

The entire room was silent. Naruto gripped the edge of his seat, his face grimly set. Kakashi’s face was blank, as was Sai’s. Neji and Shikamaru simply watched the proceedings patiently. Several people shifted uncomfortably.

But Sasuke looked perfectly calm. “I have killed only in training or when attacked. Most of those killed were Sound nins,” his voice was dangerously quiet. “I kill on need, never on command,”

“Have you ever killed any of Konoha or Suna’s residents, then?”

“No.”

“But, if I recall correctly, you were with Orochimaru and Kabuto and harmed our team of shinobi sent to search for you,”

“The last time I checked, they were still alive, I believe that that does not count as killing,” Sasuke’s gaze was unwavering.

Kakashi watched his student carefully – every facial expression, every rise and fall of his voice. Someone in Sasuke’s position ought to be presenting a remorseful image and trying to impress the jury, but here that Uchiha was, outsmarting his questioner and looking like he didn’t care.

The silver-haired Jounin’s thoughts drifted to the blonde loudmouth next to him, watching the scene with surprising intensity and concentration. Then he remembered Sakura. A girl, and now a woman. Not one to be taken lightly, either.

He hid a smile.

‘My genin team, eh?’

N

Sakura paused outside the small ‘courtroom’ doors, clutching her chest. Her wounds were throbbing painfully, she was having slight difficulty breathing, and she felt dizzy.

But she didn’t care right now. Silently, she pressed against the wooden doors, listening intently.

N

Sasuke was bored. Spelt in capital letters. But the old man’s next question was like a sharp jab to his side.

He didn’t want to answer it. He knew it was unavoidable, that sooner or later, one of them would surely ask him that question, the whole reason of his ‘betrayal’ of Konoha.

“Do you still intend to find your brother and kill him?”

N

Sakura’s breath caught in her throat. That question –

She didn’t want to hear his answer.

No matter what, no matter how much they went through to get him back, the pink-haired kunoichi knew that it would be a ‘yes’.

Meaning that he would leave them again.

Meaning that he still prized revenge above everything else.

Meaning that he might never come back.

Sakura bit her lip, using the door frame as her support. Suddenly it seemed so much more difficult to breathe.

Then, from behind her, came a loud call, as a certain weapons’ mistress came into sight.

“Sakura!”

N

Everyone froze as they heard the name.

Sasuke stood and leapt over the walls of the box he was sitting in, and swiftly strode over to the doors, Tsunade joining him. Neither heeded the guards that tried to block their way. With a tug, Sasuke yanked open the doors.

Sakura, who had been using the door as her support, lost her balance and fell when it opened. Tsunade caught her apprentice and sighed.

“You just never listen, do you?”

The cherry blossom gave her a weak smile before glancing at Sasuke. She just wanted to know that he was alright, no matter what.

“Are you… okay?” she asked quietly, clutching her painful chest. Tenten grasped the girl by her shoulders to steady her, smiling softly.

Sasuke paused. He decided not to answer, because frankly, he wasn’t too sure if he was actually ‘okay’, in every sense of the word. “Let’s get you back to the hospital, you annoying little brat,” he said with a slight smirk, draping her arm over his shoulders and supporting her on one side. Naruto ran up to help, on the other side. Tsunade quietly stepped back and allowed the two boys to help their teammate. The blonde-haired jinchuuriki was half-hugging her to death, hardly able to contain his excitement at seeing her up and about.

“Where do you think you’re going, Uchiha?” one of the elders suddenly asked from across the room. “We’re not done with your hearing yet?”

“If you know what’s best for you, schedule it for another day,” Sasuke spoke in a voice that rang across the room, without looking back. His face remained passive. “And I’m taking my teammate back to the hospital,” he continued, slowly, calmly. “Are you going to stop me?”

No one spoke.

Sasuke stepped out of the courtroom, supporting Sakura with Naruto’s help, before walking slowly out, Kakashi, Sai and Tsunade falling in step with them.
©2008 ~aria-arissa
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Author's Comments

kk... here's the next chapter!!! hope you guys enjoy, and sorry for the late update!!!! :D

-arissa-
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*Kaiju-Z:iconKaiju-Z: May 1, 2008, 8:15:05 AM
Great work on this =3

--
Number 125, Serax, the Green Brewer in =Org-infinity
Aruko-Ru in *Corrupted-Hearts
Number 98, Erix, The Enigmatic Explosion in *Neo-Orginization:)
Lixem, #7, the Brewing Digger in *Org-Omega
Azuki in *Keyblade-Warriors
~im-rite-here:iconim-rite-here: May 1, 2008, 11:29:05 AM
this is awesome, i can't wait for the next chap and hurry up with it too

--
♥ ♥ ♥ :love: SASUSAKU :love: ♥ ♥ ♥

:meditation: *brother comes and pokes me* :angered: then this happens :spyedvsjark: :matrixfight: :bonk: :ninjabattle:
~nicksissy86:iconnicksissy86: May 1, 2008, 1:38:40 PM
awww cant wait till the next one yeah

--
ACen costumes
2009-help me chose
2010-konan
2011-orochimaru
READ THIS
~aria-arissa:iconaria-arissa: May 2, 2008, 12:34:00 AM
^^ thanks.

--
"What is the point of having the Byakugan, if we see everything but the truth?"

~Hyuuga Hinata, 'Avenger's Destiny'~
*Kaiju-Z:iconKaiju-Z: May 2, 2008, 12:34:16 AM
np

--
Number 125, Serax, the Green Brewer in =Org-infinity
Aruko-Ru in *Corrupted-Hearts
Number 98, Erix, The Enigmatic Explosion in *Neo-Orginization:)
Lixem, #7, the Brewing Digger in *Org-Omega
Azuki in *Keyblade-Warriors
~aria-arissa:iconaria-arissa: May 2, 2008, 12:34:43 AM
haha... thanks!

--
"What is the point of having the Byakugan, if we see everything but the truth?"

~Hyuuga Hinata, 'Avenger's Destiny'~
~aria-arissa:iconaria-arissa: May 2, 2008, 12:46:56 AM
lawl... i loved the ending, personally...

--
"What is the point of having the Byakugan, if we see everything but the truth?"

~Hyuuga Hinata, 'Avenger's Destiny'~
~nicksissy86:iconnicksissy86: May 2, 2008, 4:47:24 AM
same here yeah

--
ACen costumes
2009-help me chose
2010-konan
2011-orochimaru
READ THIS
~im-rite-here:iconim-rite-here: May 2, 2008, 9:22:07 PM
welcome

--
♥ ♥ ♥ :love: SASUSAKU :love: ♥ ♥ ♥

:meditation: *brother comes and pokes me* :angered: then this happens :spyedvsjark: :matrixfight: :bonk: :ninjabattle:
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