Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ Ravine ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Agent's Spiel: To my one reviewer, ice vixen, I'd like to point you to my account at fanfiction(.net) - same user name. This fic is technically unfinished (and will stay that way) but I restarted it under the name Role of Seven on the other site. You're obviously welcome to continue reading this but I think the new story is a lot better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Ravine

Sakura arrived at Tsunade's office about a half-hour earlier than usual. The two Chuunin that worked as Tsunade's assistants, Kotetsu and Izumo, were outside her door each holding a stack of papers. They smiled at her when she walked up and waved to them. “Good morning, Sakura,” Izumo said politely, “You're earlier than usual. I hope you have recovered from your injury yesterday.”

Sakura shuddered imperceptibly at the sudden flashback before nodding her head politely to indicate that she was fine. “Is Tsunade-sama meeting with someone, or are your hands too full to open the door?” she asked giggling at them. They always seemed to be toting around piles of papers for the Hokage, how Tsunade got all of it done she had yet to figure out.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes slightly before answering, “Several Jounin are in there giving their mission report, we're just waiting for them to finish.” Just as he said this, the door opened and two Jounin walked out one glanced over at Sakura before turning abruptly and walking away.

Sakura turned back to the door way to see Tsunade looking down at her. She ushered Sakura into her office before turning back to her assistants and saying, “I'll come and pick that up later.” She then turned back around and closed the doors leaving two very confused Chuunin behind.

She walked over to her desk and motioned for Sakura to sit down in the seat in front of her. As she walked over to the chair she couldn't help but remember seeing Naruto sitting there yesterday, she hoped everything would be alright again. After sitting down she looked up to see Tsunade watching her carefully. Tsunade finally sighed and said, “We won't be training today; I'm giving you the next week off.”

Sakura could only look up at Tsunade in confusion, “Is something wrong Tsunade-sama?” She asked gazing up at her.

Tsunade looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back up, “Those two Jounin who were in here earlier have been away on a mission for the past week. Your parents were with them.” Sakura looked up and nodded, she had known her parents had been gone for a week. The only sign that she knew something was wrong was slight widening in her eyes, inside she was praying that Tsunade didn't mean what she thought she meant.

Tsunade continued, cutting off Sakura's train of thought, “The mission was successful and completed late last night. On the way home the group was attacked, judging by their report it was the same man who attacked you all at the river yesterday.”

“Kisame?” Sakura questioned slowly lowering her gaze to the floor, she knew what was coming.

Tsunade nodded softly before leaning down to look into Sakura's eyes, “I'm sorry Sakura. Your parents fought him holding him off their companions; the fight was stopped when another person entered the area and told Kisame to stop. Their teammates tried but they couldn't save them.”

Sakura could only stare blankly as she comprehended what Tsunade was telling her. Wasn't it just last night she was saying that she often felt like an orphan? She laughed bitterly when she realized that now she could actually understand Naruto. Tsunade looked slightly alarmed at the laugh but her gaze softened when she heard it turn into a sob. Sakura began bawling and slipped off the chair, but when Tsunade reached out to comfort the young girl she immediately jumped up.

Sakura had tears streaming down her face as she took a shaky step to balance out her footing. She then took off out the door with Tsunade right behind shouting her name. In her rush to go after the young girl she nearly bowled over Shizune who had just rounded the corner. “Tsunade-sama what happened?” the young woman asked.

“Her parents were killed on their latest mission,” Tsunade said as she watched the young girl dart out of the building, when Sakura was out of sight she turned back to Shizune, “Go after her make sure she's okay.” The Hokage then turned around and walked back to her office.

Shizune stood there for a moment before turning and sprinting after Tsunade's young apprentice.

XXXXXXXX

Once outside Sakura continued running. Nothing mattered anymore. She could barely see through her tears and her feet were moving on instinct. She was alone; before she had just felt alone now she really was. She didn't register the numerous shouts as she ran just trying to escape her troubles.

As Sakura ran through the streets of Konoha she caught a number of worried looks. Many became even more concerned when they saw Shizune, the Hokage's attendant, running after her.

As she passed the barbecue place she caught the attention of Asuma, Ino, TenTen, and Shikamaru, they were allowing Chouji to fill up before their training session. When Ino saw her old rival run by crying she knew something was incredibly wrong, without saying anything she jumped up and ran after Sakura. The rest of her team followed, though Asuma and Shikamaru didn't seem to be in much of a hurry.

She ran past Team 8's meeting place catching their attention. When they saw the group that was running after her they couldn't help but join the chase, wondering what was wrong with the girl. Soon after, Lee and Gai joined the pursuit as well. The scene would have appeared quite comical if it weren't for the fact that Sakura still had tears streaming down her face.

Her feet instinctively took her to their bridge. Once she made it there she collapsed and her sobs became more desperate. When the others finally caught up to her the others could only watch as her sobs shook her body. Shizune quickly rushed forward, she kneeled down and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder only to have it slapped away. “Get the hell away,” she said in broken gasps before continuing her sobs.

Shizune could only look down at the girl in sympathy not knowing what else to do for her. “Sakura-chan…” she said trailing off not knowing what else to say to her. She finally stood up and walked over to the group that had followed her. She glanced back at the distressed girl wondering whether or not Sakura would be against her telling the other rookies and their senseis. Deciding that Sakura was in too much pain to care she turned back to them, “Sakura's parents were killed on the way back from their latest mission. She just found out this morning.” The other rookies looked at Shizune in horror for moment before turning back to Sakura.

Ino was the first to move; their rivalry had been fading over the past several months so she threw the rest of it aside before walking over and embracing Sakura. When the girl didn't pull away she tightened her grip slightly and whispered, “It'll be all right.” The other rookies gradually walked over, hoping that their presence would help her some.

While they tried to comfort their friend, their senseis could only watch. They knew that death was often a part of the job. Showing emotion, especially tears, was not a part of being a Shinobi. Even with this knowledge they knew how hard it was for someone so young to lose her whole family in one day, especially after everything else she had been through. They watched as the others stood there unsure of what to do until Lee and Shikamaru walked up to them. “We're requesting the rest of the day off for all the teams,” Shikamaru said.

The senseis just nodded Shizune turned and looked at Sakura once more before turning to go. “I'm going to go see Tsunade, if one of us doesn't come to get her could you make sure she gets home?” she asked Shikamaru.

He nodded once before turning to Lee, “You go tell Neji, I'll go get Naruto.”

The Jounin jumped slightly at this statement and Asuma reached out to stop Shikamaru. They all remembered Kakashi's words the night before, “I don't think that's such a good idea Shikamaru.” Lee and Shikamaru both looked up in confusion when they noticed that all of the senseis seemed to agree with this announcement, “Naruto is …”

“He's Sakura's teammate, they may be training under different people but that bond has yet to be broken. She's in pain and no matter what Naruto is dealing with he'll put it aside to help her,” the Jounin seemed shocked at the sudden harshness in Shikamaru's voice. His piercing look told them he knew what he was talking about. Behind Shikamaru, Lee was nodding in ascent.

The Jounin could only gape before Asuma dropped Shikamaru's arm and sighed, “Fine but I'm telling you he might not come.” Lee and Shikamaru ignored this statement before setting off for their goals.

XXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later Lee was at the Hyuuga compound waiting for Neji's arrival. He looked up when he sensed his stoic friend's approach, “Lee, what are you doing here?”

“We're all taking the day off.”

“I thought yesterday was our day off?” Neji asked with a slight smile on his face.

“Sakura's parents were killed last night on their mission; we're taking the day off to be with her,” Neji's face went blank at Lee's announcement.

After a moment he nodded and turned around, “I'll be back in a moment.” With that he walked down the hall.

A few minutes later he walked back wearing his normal clothes, “Let's go.” With that the two walked out the door.

XXXXXXXX

When Shikamaru walked onto Naruto's training ground he saw Jiraiya and an oversized blond porcupine. He stopped and blinked several times staring at the golden spiky sphere that, moments later, rescinded to reveal Naruto. When Naruto looked up and saw Shikamaru he could only watch in confusion. After a moment or two Shikamaru shook his head and walked up to Naruto, “We're taking another day off.” Naruto could only blink at this announcement.

Jiraiya also turned to the Nara prodigy in confusion. “Didn't you runts just take the day off yesterday?” he questioned.

Shikamaru nodded before turning back to Naruto, “Sakura's parents were killed last night on their mission.”

Naruto's eyes grew wide for a moment before his face settled back into its calm mask. He nodded once and walked up to Shikamaru and motioned for him to lead the way. Jiraiya could only stare as the too walked away, when they were gone he headed towards Tsunade's office to find out what had happened.

As the two walked to Team 7's bridge, Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder at Naruto's sudden silence. He had expected the loudmouth to begin grilling him for information but Naruto hadn't said a word. He suddenly wished he had allowed Asuma to finish his statement earlier. After all none of them really knew what had happened to Naruto the day before or why it had had such a strange effect on him. Maybe it would have been better to wait and tell Naruto later; unfortunately for Shikamaru this thought came just as they arrived at the bridge.

The group was still standing around Sakura. The girl had calmed slightly though she was still crying in Ino's arms. Lee and Neji were standing there as well having arrived shortly before Naruto and Shikamaru. Sakura looked up when she heard the sounds of footsteps and found Naruto looking down at her in concern. Many of the others were shocked by the soft look on Naruto's face, but for Sakura it appeared to be all she needed.

The minute she saw him kneel down next to her she struggled away from Ino and latched onto Naruto. This action shocked the majority of the Gennin including Naruto, who wasn't particularly used to physical contact aside from violence. After a moment he hesitantly reached out his arms and when she didn't pull away he gently hugged back.

As Sakura continued to cry the others could only watch as her teammate rocked her back and forth trying to calm her down. To them Naruto was not the one you went to when you needed comfort. If you wanted to smile yes but not cry. To them Naruto had never truly shown himself capable of something this…delicate. The Naruto before them wasn't shouting, wasn't smiling, and wasn't doing anything inappropriate. In this moment it just made sense.

After a few minutes Sakura began to calm down. When she had composed herself a bit she whimpered and looked up at Naruto. “I'm sorry; you must think I'm stupid for crying so much,” she said her voice barely above a whisper.

Naruto looked down in confusion and shook his head, “Why would I think that?”

“You yelled at Inari-kun for crying so much?” she whispered as she pulled out of his hug and stared down at her hands.

“That's because Inari lost hope. He wasn't crying just because he lost someone; he was crying because he blamed his father for leaving him. It's wrong to blame the dead for leaving us, especially when they did so much for us during their lives.” Many of those gathered turned to Naruto when they heard his words. Sakura looked up at him and stared wide-eyed for a moment, when she looked back down her expression was complacent. The others stared at Naruto open mouthed and more than one began to wonder how much they truly knew about him.

After several minutes of silence Sakura attempted to stand shakily; Naruto quickly stood and helped her to her feet. She looked around for minute before turning back to the group. “We can go where ever you feel comfortable Sakura,” Ino said as if understanding the look Sakura had given them.

Sakura looked back down at her feet thinking, while she was still silent Naruto spoke up, “We can go to my apartment, it isn't far.” Sakura looked up at him and nodded. With that the group set off towards Naruto's.

On the way to his apartment the group could feel eyes watching them. However every time they looked for the source there was nothing. Only Shikamaru heard Neji whisper “Byakugan” as he activated his bloodline limit. He watched as the Hyuuga walked on occasionally glancing up at Naruto. Once he even found the blond glancing back at Neji and noticed that his normally sky blue eyes were several shades darker. Shikamaru made a mental note to ask Neji what it was he saw.

They finally made it to Naruto's apartment, a first visit for many. Sakura had been there on several occasions, either meeting Naruto on the way to team meeting or dropping something off. Shikamaru had been there to tell Naruto of Sasuke's betrayal and the mission to bring him back but he had never been inside. Naruto walked to the door and pushed it open. Several of the other Gennin raised an eyebrow at the fact that the door was unlocked already. “Geez Naruto haven't you ever heard security,” Kiba said. Naruto just turned and shrugged before leading Sakura in and letting her sit down.

The others filed in taking their time to look around. The apartment was surprisingly clean with the occasional dirty dish waiting to be washed and scroll waiting to be put away, but other than that it was quite nice. It was also a bit small, only one room. After he had allowed Sakura to sit down he glanced around and noticed a small object on the floor by his window. He was suddenly thankful that he hadn't been home in the past two days as we walked over and picked it up. Only a few others saw him unwrap what they saw was rock and then glare at his broken window, he quickly stuffed both the rock and its wrapping in his pocket. When he turned back around and saw several people looking from him to the window he shrugged and said, “It broke a few days ago, I haven't had a chance to get it fixed.”

With this out of the way the others sat down. Ino, Hinata, and TenTen joined Sakura at the table. While Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee sat on Naruto's bed; Chouji, Kiba, and Akamaru lounged on the floor; and Shino lounged against the wall by the door. Naruto remained standing near the broken window. For several minutes there was silence before Ino turned to Sakura, “Did Tsunade tell you what happened?” When Sakura remained silent, Ino looked down sadly before adding, “It's okay if you aren't ready to tell us.”

Sakura remained silent for several more moments before finally looking up. She stared at the wall across from her and they had to strain slightly to hear her quieter than usual voice, “They had been gone on a mission for a week and were due back any day. When I went in this morning Tsunade-sama said that I had the week off. She said that they had been returning home from their mission when their group was attacked by a Missing-Nin.” Many of the others looked startled at this. The chances of surviving the mission only to be randomly attacked were very slim.

Sakura smiled weakly at their concern before continuing a little louder than before, “She said that my parents fought them and took most of the hits in order to protect their teammates. The Missing-Nin was called off by his partner before he could go after the others, but my parents had already been badly injured. There was nothing their team could do to help them.” After she was done she looked back down at her hands, a small tear escaped her eye but no others followed it. The group remained silent as they took in what she had said.

After several minutes of silence Shikamaru looked up and turned to Sakura. “So the other members of the team survived unharmed,” he stated. Sakura looked up and nodded. “Was there a Medic-Nin on their team?” he asked after another pause. Sakura nodded and grinned lightly at them, “My mother had medical training, but she hated being kept back from the fights.”

As Shikamaru remained silent Neji spoke up much to everyone's surprise. “You don't have to answer this if you don't want to,” he said with gentleness that none had heard from him before, “could their teammates identify the Missing-Nin?”

Sakura looked up and nodded, “Tsunade said that their description of the attacker fit a well known Missing-Nin.” She glanced around the room at all those present and remembered the events that they had been through yesterday. She looked down at her hands and said quietly, “She thinks it was Kisame.” The others looked up at her in shock before a sudden noise caught their attention. The sound of window slamming and glass breaking brought their eyes to the spot on the wall that Naruto had occupied just moments before. Sakura slapped her hand over her mouth and Lee jumped and made it to the window just in time to see Naruto dash off across the roofs. He was about to follow when a hand grasped his shoulder. Neji had stood up and shook his head indicating that Lee should leave Naruto for the time being.

The others were staring in shock not quite comprehending the situation. “I should never have said that in front of him, not after how he's been acting,” Sakura said sliding off the chair onto her knees, Ino quickly got and kneeled beside the girl in case she began to cry again and needed someone to comfort her. However, Sakura did not cry she just stared at the window that Naruto had fled through. Ino looked up to find discover that Shikamaru had adopted his usual thinking position, he was still sitting on Naruto's bed with his hands in front him forming a circle. The others looked up and watched as Shikamaru seemed to be deep in thought.

After nearly ten minutes Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at the assembled rookies. Even Sakura looked over to the genius shadow user to see what he had discovered in his reverie. He took a deep breath and addressed his comrades, “There is definitely something wrong with Naruto,” he concluded. The others gaped at him for a moment before Ino stood up, walked over, and smacked him so hard in the head that he fell off the bed.

The others groaned as Ino shrieked at him, “We already knew that you idiot and here I was thinking you were some sort of genius.”

He looked up and shrugged, “I don't honestly know enough about Naruto to find out what's bothering him.” The others looked away sadly knowing that there was little they could do in this situation. Instead they turned their attention back to Sakura who was staring at the floor. They could only hope that things would get better.