Avenger's Destiny: Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Reunion

十四 – 聚会

He noted that she’d grown taller, had more curves, and looked so much more mature than she had before. He’d been surprised when Sakura had suddenly leapt out of nowhere, but most of all…

He was surprised to find that it hurt when Sakura went straight to Kakashi – without sparing him a glance.

He noted the way her eyes flashed, the way her face showed no weakness, no fear when she faced him, and her undeniable self-confidence, radiating from her in waves. He also knew, once he sensed her, that she was not a pushover.

This couldn’t be the Sakura he once knew. Emotional and begging for dates… none of that was happening now. This definitely was not Sakura.

“You’re not Sakura,” Sasuke said flatly without thinking. His red Sharingan was activated, they stared her down without blinking.

Sakura looked at him strangely, before letting out a bitter laugh, one that Sasuke never knew she was capable of. She cast him a scornful, sidelong glance. “I’m not Sakura? Oh, come on, Sasuke, you should know better than that,”

He was momentarily confused by her words. He should know better than that?

“I am Sakura. I’m simply not the Sakura you knew,”

The Uchiha was silent. Sakura…

“The Sakura you knew… cried to you on the day you left. She proclaimed that she would follow you to the ends of the earth if you refused to stay, the only reason being that she cared for you. And you gave her nothing but a meaningless ‘thank you’,” the pink-haired kunoichi stared him in the eye. “That was the Sakura you knew. The one who was actually naïve and idiotic enough to say all that to your face. To believe that you actually cared, even if just a little bit,”

Silence.

“I can’t believe I actually did that, you know? Because now, when I look back, I realize that you just don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve us, never giving up on you. You don’t deserve everything that Naruto and I have gone through just to shake some bloody sense into you. We’ve defended you from everyone who said a single bad word about you. We did so much, and we received nothing but hatred in return,”

Sakura’s fists clenched unintentionally.

“Well, if I don’t deserve it, then why are you still chasing after me,?” Sasuke growled, lifting his sword to strike while coming straight at her. Sakura stood, motionless. When he was a foot away from her, her gloved fist smashed into his face and sent him flying backwards, but his blade had drawn blood from her arm. A painful jolt coursed through her entire body and Sakura let out a low growl, healing her arm quickly.

“We never gave up on you,” the cherry blossom said quietly. “We never gave up on you because we cared, dammit! We still care!” her voice rose in a crescendo. “We kept hoping that you’d come back some day, no matter what happened. It’s been five years, Sasuke, do you even realize that?”

“I’m aware,” Sasuke spat. Snakes slithered out of his yukata sleeves, surrounding his childhood teammate.

“Then…” Sakura turned to look at the silent Kakashi, who saw the tears threatening to spill from her emerald eyes.

“I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun,”

N

Neji swung past another branch, Akamaru now at his heels, helping to trace Sakura’s cleverly concealed scent and chakra presence. Frankly, he wasn’t worried about the kunoichi, he knew that she was capable in her own way.

“We’ve been out for an hour and a half, already, any sign of Sakura yet?” Shikamaru called from behind, landing on a branch with Ino beside him. Before he could get started on the ‘troublesome’ word, Ino sent him a death glare.

Shikamaru caught the worry reflected in her eyes and wisely said nothing more.

Gaara and Sai were silent, following Hinata at the rear of the group. Sai removed two scrolls from his pack and sent a hoard of rats scurrying around them to help Akamaru pick up chakra trails.

Everyone was immersed in their own thoughts of the most recent events, a part of them grudging Sakura for delaying their return home, but another part of them sincerely worried about her.

Lee was the only openly enthusiastic one amongst them. “We must hurry! Sakura-san may have lost much of her youthful flame already!” he proclaimed, punching his fist into the air and somersaulting, resulting in him tripping over a tree branch. Everyone groaned silently.

Tenten narrowed her eyes, behind Kiba. Naruto was long gone before them, not heeding anyone’s orders, solely concerned on finding Sakura. ‘You’re one lucky girl, Sakura…So many people care about you… I just hope you know what you’re doing…’

“Tenten,” the Hyuuga prodigy called her from up front. Grabbing a branch above her, the weapons mistress swung over Kiba, muttering a quick apology to him before landing beside Neji.

“Yeah?” she asked him quietly. She knew full well that Neji could read her thoughts, his Byakugan was activated. He looked at her, leaping over a fallen branch, his opaque eyes betraying concern.

“Sakura’ll be fine. She’s stronger than any one of us knows… the Nanabi and her kekkai genkai are simply added bonuses. And Naruto will find her. Those two… have a bond that we won’t ever understand,” he said in a low voice.

Tenten glanced at him, and for a moment, their eyes locked. “I know… thanks,”

“Neji!” Kiba hissed just as the Hyuuga branch member was about to reply Tenten. The Inuzuka pulled the couple back by their collars, not heeding their death glares. “Akamaru…”

The white ninja dog whined, looking up at them.

“There are three people in the clearing up front, not counting Naruto who’s closing in on them,” Sai stated before Kiba had the chance, forming handseals to retrieve his inked rats.

Kiba nodded. “Kakashi, Sakura and…”

“Sasuke,” Sai finished simply.

“They’re in trouble. He was no push-off the last time I faced him, and that was in the Chunnin exams,” Gaara’s dark-rimmed eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms.

Lee was about to speak when Neji and Hinata yelled out.

“DUCK!”

Razor-sharp missiles came flying at them, meeting Tenten’s weapons in midair and clanging onto the ground uselessly. Several more were blocked by Gaara’s sand.

“Well, it looks like our ambush didn’t work,” a familiar voice smirked. About ten figures leapt into view, a white-haired man in the lead.

“Kabuto,” a certain ANBU Root member acknowledged quietly, staring the medic nin down.

“Split up!” Shikamaru yelled, taking command. “Three-man teams!”

The shinobis shot off in perfectly synchronized rhythm. Tenten, Lee and Neji took off to the right, Shikamaru, Gaara and Ino took the front, Hinata, Sai and Kiba went left.

Team Gai found themselves facing Kabuto.

“Well,” the medic-nin smirked, adjusting his glasses. “Shall we begin?”

N

“I don’t need you to be sorry,” Sasuke snarled. “Because you’ll be the one dying when I’m finished,”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Sasuke,” the cherry blossom retorted, drawing her Fuuma Shuriken. Kakashi watched, torn between being concerned for Sakura’s safety and enjoying the rather… interesting match. He'd observed how much Sakura herself had grown, he wanted to see how much the other student, whom he had always been partial too, had advanced in five years.

Five years... had it really been that long?

The trio suddenly heard a chuckle from above them.

“She’s right,” an averagely tall figure leapt down from the shadows of the trees. Naruto stood beside Sakura, a lopsided grin on his face as he faced Sasuke.

“Teme…" Naruto smirked. “Seriously, don’t be so sure that you’ll be winning this time,”

N

“Looks like they’re having a real cosy reunion back there,” Kabuto smirked, easily dodging Tenten’s flying missiles. Through the sparse forest leaves, Team Gai could barely make out three figures in the nearby clearing.

Lee’s spinning kick sent the two Sound nins about to attack Tenten from behind flying. Neji dodged two kunais and hit his attacker at the heart, discreetly throwing a kunai backwards, hitting another dead-on. The Hyuuga noted that Sound nins were increasing, and frowned.

‘Kabuto’s got backup… does Orochimaru know we’re here?’

“Touching, isn’t it?” Kabuto sighed mockingly, leaping up another branch to avoid Tenten’s punch. “Chasing after someone whom you know won’t ever return…” he paused, looking back at her mockingly. “But then again… Sakura isn’t exactly… how should I put it… the brightest girl around, is she?”

Obviously, he was doing nothing to ease the weapon’s mistress’ towering temper of indignation.

“At least it’s better than chasing after a dream that will never come true, in Orochimaru’s case,” she snarled, pulling out two katanas.

Much to their surprise, Kabuto smirked and nodded. “Yes, it is. Orochimaru is currently rather useless, seeing as you have obtained the scrolls before him, and he is far from achieving his ambition,”

He expertly dodged Lee’s punch, but did not manage to avoid Tenten’s katanas. Finding deep slashes on his arm, Kabuto tried to heal himself, but the weapons mistress gave him no time to spare.

Already her Rising Twin Dragons were encircling him, throwing out weapons by the hundreds. The medic nin found himself struggling to dodge the endless barrage of razor-sharp weapons without any means of stopping the attacks, as the dragons were simply mist.

“I haven’t spent five years living with a medic nin without learning anything,” Tenten smirked. “A medical ninja’s strength lies in their ability and stamina in manipulating chakra. If I manage to make you lose most of your chakra and energy without wasting much of my own, then the fight is in my favour,”

“I – “ Kabuto dodged two kunais. “ – don’t lose so easily,”

He made a flying leap towards Tenten, aiming to disable the source of the attacks.

The weapons mistress jerked her chakra strings controlling the dragons. “Not so fast,” she warned. “Rokuryuu: Saseru!” (1)

Four more misty, white dragons materialized, blocking Kabuto’s path. All six legendary creatures rose in an upward spiral, trapping the medic nin within.

“You know what to do…” Tenten cast her male teammates a sidelong glance, gradually letting her jutsu dispel.

“Yeah,” Neji said simply, leaping of the branch he was on.

“Roger!” Lee made more of a show, taking a flying leap towards the disappearing tornado of dragons.

N

“Kiba, Hinata… hold the fort here for a few moments,” Sai said in his quiet manner, blocking three kunais with his own. “I… need to do something,”

The two shinobis nodded, paled and sweating from the effort it took to face the increasing number of Sound nins.

“Make it quick,” Kiba growled as he lunged at an attacker’s throat, Akamaru tackling another. They were an effective team.

Silently, Sai disappeared through the bushes, making sure that no one was following him. He knelt upon the ground and spread out an empty scroll, quickly dipping his calligraphy brush in ink and beginning to write.

Within a few moments, Sai was done. Swiftly completing a series of handseals, he placed his hands on the scroll. It glowed momentarily, and then the inked words rose from the surface of the scroll, clumping together to form the shape of a black falcon, his swiftest flying animal.

It perched atop Sai’s hand, cocking its head to the side, awaiting its master’s instructions on where to go.

“You know where to. Go,” Sai said softly, releasing the bird. It fluttered off through the leaves.

Sai watched it disappear before pocketing his things and darting back through the bushes to rejoin his friends.

N

‘Don’t be so sure you’ll defeat her this time…’

Sasuke found Naruto’s words replaying in his mind. Sakura – was he no longer a match for her, even? An emotion, one that he had not felt for a long time, resurfaced.

Fear.

The Uchiha did not like this particular emotion – it made him feel like he was helpless, like he wasn’t in control. Quickly brushing his doubts away, Sasuke’s arrogant self reassured him. ‘It isn’t possible,’

“You still underestimate me, Sasuke,” Sakura’s cold voice rang out as she prepared herself to attack. A certain anger rose within her, anger that she had not felt for quite some time. “Big mistake,”

Her right fist smashed into the ground forcefully, creating a split that shot forward for kami-sama knows how long. Sasuke gave a start and sprang aside, onyx eyes widening as he narrowly avoided falling into the deep crack.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but he quickly regained himself and went on the offensive, coming straight at Sakura with his katana poised. Naruto quickly moved in to join her, but Sakura’s free hand stopped him as she blocked Sasuke’s katana with a kunai, slipping beneath the blade to avoid getting slashed.

“No, Naruto…” she said quietly, leaping away to find an opening for attacks.

“But – he could kill you!” the hyperactive ninja looked doubtful, knowing that Sakura was implying that she wanted to fight Sasuke by herself.

“My fight. Promise me,” she said firmly as she did a backflip and landed beside him, her emerald eyes still watching Sasuke.

“Let her go, Naruto,” Kakashi suddenly spoke up, still leaning against a tree behind them. The smile beneath his mask was obvious. “You’ll never stop her,”

Naruto’s sky blue eyes studied Sakura carefully for several seconds, watching her fend off blows, and sighed.

“…okay… but I’m coming in if things get nasty, ‘kay?”

She smiled. “Yeah, sure. I’m not ready to die yet,” Two shurikens slashed at two snakes slithering towards her from her left. “Just take care of Kaka-sensei…” she cast a sidelong glance at Kakashi.

The injured Jounin raised a hand sheepishly in his trademark gesture. “Yo,”

Sakura shook her head, leaping forward to face Sasuke again.

“Wish me luck,”

N

(1) Rokuryuu: Saseru - Six Dragons: Attack