Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Conflicts ❯ Missions ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Again… I don't own Naruto

A/N: More questions to be answered I think… ^^ please cooperate… I know im not that good. For everyone's information, I've edited the first chapter and made it five years, so their ages are playing around 17-18.

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Sakura grabbed her mask and put it on. Her hands still trembling as she focused her attention on the hunter nin who just entered the room. Sakura was somewhat disappointed to see her partner wearing the mask. She had hoped to see the face of the one she is sharing the mission with. She stood up and bowed slightly to acknowledge his presence. The nin merely nodded back. She sighed, 'at least its fair, we're both two different strangers where no one knows the other. What's the Hokage playing at? Placing two strangers in the same mission.' she thought as she sat down across the hunter-nin. "So, now that both of you are present, I think its time to tell you of your mission, but before that, being an ANBU requires you to hide your identity. So, I gave you both the names to use, but its still up to you if you want to reveal yourself." She smiled and motioned to Sakura, "Haru" [1] she turned to the hunter-nin, "Nasake" [2]

"Nasake…" Sakura whispered as she turned to study him.

"Now for the mission, I want you to retrieve someone and bring him back here to Konoha." Tsunade stopped and looked at Sakura.

"Who is it?" Nasake asked.

Sakura listened carefully to his voice, soft as velvet, but somewhat cold. That voice…she had never heard it before, or so she thought. She then settled her curiosity, he is just someone who she needs to know better, a complete stranger, but this she promised herself, it wont be long till she finally considered him as a friend and a comrade, but something is bothering her, somehow, he reminded her of Sasuke.

Tsunade then continued her earlier statement. "The one you will retrieve, a missing-nin, most likely a threat to our village in the upcoming attack of the Sound nins. If ever you can convince him to join our nins, he would be a great ally and comrade. He has bloodline abilities that he only possesses."

Sakura glanced at Nasake who clenched his fist, it troubled her a bit but still she turned back to Tsunade and listened, little did she know that Tsunade's following words only meant trouble for her.

"The one who you will retrieve is… Uchiha Sasuke."

"Masaka…" [3] Sakura whispered, her eyes widened behind her mask. No, Tsunade's mistaken… it cant be Sasuke… of all people to retrieve… why Sasuke? Of all people to retrieve him… why her? Did Tsunade plan it all? Is there a deeper meaning for this mission? Other reasons? Or… maybe fate decided that it would be time to settle things once and for all? Either reasons… she wasn't comforted. She wanted to back away from the mission.

"Haru?" Nasake asked, a little curious about her chakra's sudden burst, it suddenly blazed inside her… like anger kept for a long time and was struggling to come out. Her chakra toned with her sudden emotional burst. Nasake… being who he was… have obviously noticed this.

"Im fine" She whispered back.

"Nasake, Haru… I wish you the best on this mission, and please… try not to fail. Konoha's fate will be decided on the outcome of this mission. She was about to go back to what she has been doing earlier but a hand slammed against her table. Tsunade looked up to see a very enraged kunoichi. Her emerald green eyes a mixture of various emotions. Fear. Anger. Sorrow. Love. "What is it Haru-san?"

"Why me?" Sakura finally shouted. Forgetting that she should at least hide her identity, but her bursting with all emotions about Sasuke almost gave away her real identity being Sakura.

Tsunade looked at her. "Haru-san, if ever you have personal conflicts with that Uchiha… kindly disregard it during this mission. I thought you already knew that."

Sakura calmed down and nodded, "I understand." She answered in clenched teeth.

Nasake had been watching Sakura all the time since she started shouting. He smiled mentally. "Obviously… im certain who this girl is. Poor kunoichi… she doesn't even know who she is with." He then asked to be excused, Tsunade just agreed silently.

Sakura turned to Nasake. "Nasake-san?"

"Kunoichi, what do you want?" He answered, his fingers curled around the doorknob.

Something about his question triggered her memories, but this she decided to ignore. "I was wondering if I could know you better."

"Don't bother, there's nothing interesting about me."

"Onegai Nasake-san? We'll be together for a while so I thought it may be best if…"

"Suit yourself," Nasake cut her off, "but don't keep your hopes up. I had given you an early warning."

"Arigatou" Sakura bowed slightly but when she straightened up, Nasake was gone. She turned to Tsunade who just nodded. Sakura then understood and disappeared, going after Nasake. "Why did he leave so sudden?" she asked herself. "But there's no need to deny… he is interesting." She whispered as she tried to follow his tracks.

~~~~~*~~~~~ (Change scene)

A firm hand slapped against a wooden table. A raven-haired male just standing nearby, unflinching, arms crossed in front of him as he leaned on the wall. His onyx eyes closed calmly… unbothered. "What?! What do you mean rescheduling the attack? Again you're telling me that you need another week of thinking of a strategy? Sasuke, just because you are our primary weapon against Konoha means things are going your way!" Nanoki shouted.

"Im not changing my mind."

"Fine… but this will be the last."

Sasuke smirked and walked out of Nanoki's room. Nanoki is the leader of the missing-nins where Sasuke joined. Mostly composed of sound nins. He is a year older than Sasuke with long brown hair, which he tied from the back down to his waist. His eyes hold the color of ice blue, piercing whomever it lays its sight on.

From behind a corner, a girl of Sasuke's age appeared. She holds a similar appearance as Nanoki, but her hair, much more like silk which just stops on her shoulder, but one thing that can easily distinguish her from her brother is her eye. She had the eyes of grass green, which is now currently focused on the Uchiha. She took a deep breath and walked over to Sasuke. "Taishi-kun!" [4]

"Hana, what do you want." Sasuke growled. He finally got rid of that pink-haired kunoichi and this girl comes along. He thought that he was safe away from Sakura, but he is wrong. Hana is just as annoying as Sakura! Maybe worse, its actually making him miss the pink-haired kunoichi sometimes. They had so much in common anyway, one would be their admiration for him, and for the second one… that would be their eyes, but if he just looked deeper, he would realize that Sakura's emerald ones are much more soulful, more comforting… full of emotion… concern. Hana's eyes are just ordinary greens.

"Taishi-kun? What did you talk about?"

Sasuke snapped back to reality. He frowned, he wanted so much to bang his head to the wall for thinking about that kunoichi. Right now, what he wants is to just gain his normal self. "Talk with whom?"

"My brother, Nanoki-niichan."

"Its none of your business." Sasuke then turned away and walked back to his room.

"Ambitious, brooding, human ice cube." Hana whispered and walked away, opposite of where Sasuke was headed.

She said it again… human ice cube. Not that he cared, he just remembered the times when that fox-boy used to call him that. "Baka-onna… I am Ambitious." He then retired to his room. His thoughts focusing on Konoha and its residents. A smirk crossed his cold features when a certain kunoichi entered his thoughts once again. "She still makes me smile."

~~~~~*~~~~~ (You know what this is right?)

Nasake was training since he left Tsunade and Sakura. To say the least, he had been training from morning and its already dark. Sakura had been watching nearby, studying him. "He really is like Sasuke," she thought. Her eyes then widened, "He'll collapse any minute. He had worn himself out. Training since morning until now without resting? No one can survive that long!" she whispered to herself as she jumped down from her tree. She then ran towards him. "Nasake-san!"

"Sakura?" Nasake whispered before he passed out.

Sakura's face faltered. "How… how did you know my name?" She kneeled beside him, her hand lingering on his ANBU mask. "Who are you really…" she then withdrew her hand in guilt. "I can't take advantage of him!" She then picked him up and carried him to her home.

Arriving back home, she quickly laid Nasake on the couch. She ran to the kitchen and picked up a damp towel. Walking back to the hunter-nin, she slid the mask down, but not enough to reveal his facial features. She was quite taken aback when bandages were wrapped around his forehead. She then ignored it and placed the damp towel on his forehead and stood up to leave, but a hand held her wrist, making her unable to move away. Nasake had just held her back. Her face slowly turned crimson as she sat back down beside him. "Nasake-san, do you need something?"

"Haru… tell me… you knew Sasuke before. Right?"

"Hai… why the question?"

"I want to know… why he left, and I want you to tell me."

Sakura looked down and gripped her pants in anger. "He left… he left because…"

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Notes!

[1] - Haru, Sakura's ANBU name, means spring

[2] - Nasake means sympathy

[3] - Masaka… impossible

[4] - Taishi, Sasuke's name as a missing nin, means ambition or being ambitious

A/N: Yatta!!! Second chapter done at last! Don't get mad at me for cutting it here. Anyway… the answer is in the next chapter entitled, "The Reason He Left" OK? R&R I BEG YOU!!!