Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Puzzle Called War ❯ Go Ahead ( Chapter 12 )

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

Prepare for more awesomeness and randomness!! But for real, pay attention in this one. I am warning you- THE EVENTS IN THIS CHAPTER START FROM FUTURE TO PAST. So in the beginning, it'll be what's going to happen, then it rewinds backwards. Got it? And don't try reading it bottom to top, cuz it won't work that way. Each part has a giant skip between each other from future to past. This chapter pretty much tells you what's going to happen later.

`Don't go chasing waterfalls! Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to. I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all. But I think you re moving too fast…' -T.L.C. [Waterfalls]

…

…Sakura POV…

Hate. Detest. Wrath.

It taught me how to live, how to breathe…how to be Sakura.

Love. Affection. Devotion.

It taught me a lesson. It thrashed…it burned. It left. But it was back to disturb me.

Joy. Happiness. Delight.

It has no meaning anymore. They define nothing in my life.

Delirium.

It was my sanctuary.

My eyes wheeled around wildly as I tried to focus on my surroundings. It was catastrophic, and I was a part of it all. I made it happen. A part of me felt a violent relief at the end. It was over, and I could shut down in peace. I was on my back, staring up at the pale sky. Were there survivors? I could care less. I survived, didn't I? A grin crept onto my face. It stretched so tight my cheeks started hurting. Ah, pain. How long has it been since I've felt that emotion? Days? Weeks? Months? Just how long have I been lying here lazily?

“What time is it?” I mused aloud, not expecting an answer. I heard the echo of my ringing voice.

The ground was soft like pillows. Maybe I didn't survive after all. Was this death? I didn't like it much. Where was the torture, the burning pain? I knew those feelings all too well to give up so easily. I could drown in my own pain, except I wouldn't drown. I'd swim happily for hours to reach the other side of the miles it stretched. I growled for a moment. Why was it so damn bright? It had to be morning. The light was blinding! Or maybe it was God, coming to give his divine punishment. What punishment was there to give me? Hadn't I suffered enough? I tried to cover my eyes with my arms, but they were restrained. Whoever fought me earlier must have tied me up pretty tight.

“Might as well look for the others…” I muttered, scrambling to my feet. I realized I was barefooted. When did my shoes come off? I shrugged and continued forward, only to be stopped by some kind of barrier. “Hey! What the hell is this?!”

“Sakura, calm down. Everything is fine,” A soothing voice said. But I was not in the mood for soothing.

“Who the hell are you? What is this thing?” I demanded. I backed away from the shadow approaching me until I hit the other end of the barrier.

“Sakura, if you don't calm down I'll have to drug you.” The voice warned, pulling out a syringe with silver liquid.

“Oh hell no! That's mercury, isn't it? That's not a drug, it poison! Like hell I'll listen to you, so piss off!” I shouted. This guy was definitely the enemy.

“Hold her down…” He sighed sadly. A pair of strong arms caught me on my shoulders and held me in place while I struggled violently. The sting of the needle rocketed through me like he stabbed me with a knife.

The world started swaying, and then went black.

It was dark, and I could barely make out the silhouette looming above me. I glared right back, waiting for the person to speak. Suddenly, light flickered on and I saw the same disgustingly beautiful face that haunted my very being.

“S-Sasuke! What are you doing here? I thought I kicked your ass!” I shouted into his face, unflinching. He stared back with no emotion.

“I'm visiting, you moron.” He said quietly. I glared back at him.

“You traitor! Here I am, being kidnapped and you're just going to watch?! Whose side are you on?” I hissed. He sighed, like he was explaining things for the millionth time.

“Sakura, I visit everyday, remember?” Sasuke asked slowly. That flickered a dim light in the back of my mind. He visited me since I was held captive?

“What is this place?” I demanded. He knelt down to me eye level and raised my chin with his finger.

“Accept it or not, Sakura, they have placed you in an asylum.” Sasuke said bluntly. I stared back at him in shock. Asylum? Then the needles and the syringe and my arms…!

“You liar.” I whispered, not accepting the truth.

“I am no liar, Sakura. We go through this everyday. You are delirious. You've been that way since the war ended.” He said. “Don't you remember anything?”

I shut my eyes in concentration, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Last I remembered I was in the land of Sound. There was a light tap on my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes to realize I was sprawled out on a chair, staring the bright fireworks in the sky. I was daydreaming, again. I looked to my left to find a messenger waiting to gain my attention.

“The celebration is already starting. They wish to see you,” He said quietly. I nodded my head and rose from my seat.

“Take me to them.” I said.

…Next Scene…

“They have said she's already past the border. Tsunade wishes to speak to you about the situation. Orders?” Ino asked, standing a foot away from Shizune.

She sighed angrily. “I guess I have no choice then. And on the day of the ceremony too… She knows how important and delicate this day is, especially in the middle of a war!” She grumbled. I heard her footsteps leave the room, followed by the door slamming.

“She's gone, Sakura.” Ino confirmed. I hopped down from my hiding place in the ceiling and grinned absentmindedly at her. She frowned distastefully.

“Don't worry, Ino! It's fun this way!” I cheered, grinning away like a simpering idiot. “Besides, it's not like you've never had to lie for me before, right?”

“That's why I think it's stupid…” Ino muttered, rolling her eyes. She looked me seriously in the eye. “And why would you pick today of all days to make a run for it? It's not like you did anything wrong!”

“Tsunade knew I was going to leave after the war since we gained word about it. She doesn't want me to leave, mostly because she doesn't trust me with information about the village. That, and the fact that I'll be missed by pretty much everybody.” I explained.

“Sakura, it's the ceremony for God's sake! And especially now that he's becoming the new Hokage, do you know what that could do to him if you left? Haven't you caused enough trouble as it is?” Ino argued. I puffed out a breath through my nose and crossed my arms.

“It's better this way. Besides, I'm not becoming a criminal or anything. I'll pass through sometime, but for now, I think it's better to stay away. I'd rather try to forget everything here.” I said.

“The first step to forgetting is forgiving!” Ino shouted. I rubbed my temples in annoyance.

“I will never forgive someone who doesn't give an apology,” I said in a steely whisper. “Sasuke can suffer all he wants about me, but he'll never feel the pain I have. Never.”

“And running away will make you feel better?” She retorted.

“You know, you're pretty ignorant, knowing all the crap I've been through for all these years! You, of all people, should know how I feel!” I snapped.

Ino paused for a moment. “Okay, whatever, I get you. Just go Sakura. But you better promise to come back someday.”

“I promise I'll come back, Ino. I don't know when, but I will.” I said.

She searched around in her kimono until she pulled out a small red ribbon. “Remember that promise we made all those years ago to be rivals? Well, lets make a new promise. You have to swear to come back with my ribbon, no matter what.”

“You swear on it?” She demanded. I grinned at her persistence.

“Cross my heart… So, this is goodbye Ino.”

“Nah. It's a see you later.”

“Alright then. I can agree to that. See you later. Ino.”

I grabbed her hand in a firm handshake, taking the ribbon into my hand. She rolled her eyes and grinned at me. A smile lit up my face as our hands parted. She stood with her hands on her hips, watching me exit through the door. I tied the ribbon around my wrist, sure that we'd meet again someday. I made a detour, ending up in front of the ruins of the Uchiha manor. I walked across the rubble and kicked down the door.

“Sakura.” Sasuke said bluntly. I stared at him with a blank face and snatched the locket off of my neck. I stared at it with uncaring eyes.

“Just now, I made a promise with Ino I'd come back. Is that true? Who knows? But it made me think I should make some kind of promise of my own with you.” I mused, playing with the trinket in my hands.

“What kind of promise?” He demanded. I stared at him sharply.

“I'm leaving, Sasuke, just as you have. This is not a promise, but a solitary demand of me. One day Sasuke, you will find me and apologize. You'll know when, that is most definite.” I said.

“Not that I will, but I'm curious. How will I know when to come to you?” He asked.

“When you wake up and start being honest about your feelings.” I hissed, flicking the stupid locket toward him.

He made no move to dodge it, causing a small gash to appear on his cheek. I walked out steamily, tossing the door back into place. And that was really the end of my little tiff with Sasuke. It was up to him to come find me and finally be honest about himself. Now I had bigger fish to fry. My next target was the obstacle that made me truly suffer in the first place. I'd find him, kill him, and make everyone prosper without fear anymore. I could finally be free of this accursed pain. I will murder that…thing.

That piece of shit better watch it.

…Next Scene…

I glared at the idiot in anger. “Check out what the cat dragged in! What were you doing this whole time? Watching our number diminish until you felt it was a good time to step in?”

“I don't need to explain myself to you, Sakura.” Sasuke said icily. I clenched my jaw in balled up my fists.

“I wasn't asking for an explanation, Sasuke! I remember a few years ago when you said you loved me, and asked me to go with you. Where'd all that go?” I demanded. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “Shut up! I already know what you'll say.”

“Then why ask?” Sasuke retorted. I growled back at him.

“I should've known to stay away from you since day one! All you've done is cause trouble for me, and not once have you ever apologized for it! You know what, you're really pissing me off!” I shouted.

“And what are you going to do about it? You've done nothing for all these years. What about that stupid vow you made? Was that a lie as well?” Sasuke asked. I tightened the leather gloves on my hands.

“You wanna go, Sasuke?!” I demanded, sliding into a crouch. “Cuz I got all day you fucker!”

“Now is not the place, nor the time.”

“I think this is the perfect setting, jackass! I think everyone would appreciate seeing your stupid Uchiha ass face forward in the dirt!”

“And how are you so sure you'll keep all your limbs to do it?”

“Well, that'll be a sight to see how you can rip my limbs off after I slowly hack your dick off!!”

After hearing our loud voices, swarms of enemy ninja encircled the two of us. We ended up so packed in, our backs were slightly touching each other. They were all the disgusting mutant ninja that Orochimaru created. They all growled like animals at us, and I went ahead and growled back.

“What will you do?” Sasuke inquired, emphasizing on the `you' part.

“Destroy all the fag clones and then rip your dick off. You?” I asked casually.

“Hn.”

There was a violent rumbling on the ground, but it was ignored. The mutant ninja lunged at us, and I jumped forward to meet them in the air. One after another, I threw them back down and ripped all of them to shreds. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sasuke standing still while the enemy was paralyzed on the floor in pain. They suddenly exploded, blood and limbs flying everywhere. I blinked furiously in surprise as the blood splattered on my face.

“What the hell?!” I spluttered, unable to find the right words. He turned to me slowly and I saw his eyes glowing purple with different markings than the Sharingan.

“This is nothing,” Sasuke murmured. I took an uneven step back and clenched my fists beside my legs.

“Sasuke, just listen to me, okay? This is serious,” I said. He didn't move, but his strange eyes never left mine. “I heard about you…and Itachi. But revenge on Konoha? Sasuke, you have to know that's just plain stupid.”

“That matter is none of your concern.” Sasuke said in a flat voice.

“None of my concern?! You're planning to friggin obliterate my village and you say its none of my concern?! This is just straight up wrong, and you know it!” I yelled. “Stop trying to fix your problems by taking out people you think are in your way!”

“…”

“You see? This is the reason why nobody likes you!” I seethed. “Answer me this, Sasuke, because I'm just dying to know now! Was that all just words? Or did you mean it?”

“I meant it… at the time.”

“So what changed your mind?! Did Orochimaru magically turn you gay or something?! Nobody would just lie like that without a reason! You can't just change your mind!”

“What if I did?”

“Just quit it! Stop avoiding the question and give me a damn answer!”

“…”

“…Oh, I see. I get it now. You don't have to answer. I already know it.”

“Hn.”

“You're scared, aren't you? Those feelings, they're foreign to you, aren't they! You fear what you can't understand!”

“I am not afraid of-”

“So you rejected those feelings to get away from it all and decided to act like an empty shell! All this time I never got it until now. You're just running away from your problems! You're… a coward!”

“I am not a coward, Sakura!!” Sasuke roared, surprising me with his suddenly loud tone. I went on without a skipping a beat.

“Don't deny it! You told me to die because you couldn't figure out what else there was to say. A clean cut, huh? And…and I believed you too! I went through all that…all because you're a fucking chicken! And an asshole too! How dare you sit back and watch me suffer like that when you knew it was all on you!”

He seemed too enraged to retort anything back at the moment.

“Oh, and don't think I've forgotten all about the Forest of Death! Was that some kind of shitty apology you gave me? Of course, stupid ol' me accepted it! But then you switch moods and decide to change your mind because YOU WERE FREAKING SCARED!”

“I wasn't the coward! The Third Hokage was the coward! He ordered Itachi to kill my family because they were planning to overthrow Konoha! He didn't even have the decency to at least explain to me!”

“Sasuke… What the fuck could he say to make it any better?! And especially to an eight year old! It's obvious you'd rebel and try to save them all! Itachi would've ended up killing you too! Maybe he should have! That way he wouldn't feel shame that the last Uchiha was weak!”

“Weak? Me? I've been struggling all my life just to survive on my own! I've been lied to by my own brother for my protection! I killed him, only to have everything explained after he died! All the things that gave me a drive, just to have them all shut down again! Haven't you ever thought about how I might feel?”

“News flash Sasuke! You haven't even considered how this all might make me feel! You threw me to the lions just because you couldn't understand your situation! Was I just some obstacle, Sasuke? Was I just something to pass by and step on along the way?”

“I have no answer for that.”

“What do you mean, no-”

But I was interrupted, because that strange rumbling on the ground started again. I looked to my left and saw a giant explosion, followed by a bright red beam shooting into the air. It beam expanded and suddenly exploded silently like a nuclear bomb, but I could feel the tremendous force in the violent wind. A murderous roar of terror ruptured through the clearing we were in.

“Naruto?”

…

Jeez!! It's been like…a month? Honestly, I've been LAZY! Hee hee! I guess you could call this a spoiler and filler! I'm sorry for my lateness!! Hopefully I can update earlier in March! Actually, I'm kinda losing my MOTIVES TO WRITE, NOOOOO!!! Slowly but surely, I'm losing views and reviews!! -Sighs- No reassurance whatsoever. Should I continue? It seems like nobody gives a shit…

Oh, and -Satans_Spawnishly_Daughter I GOT UR MESSAGE!! Heh, that'd be kewl if we could chat! Lolz, chat. I sound British.

SmilezPeepz I outtie!

P.S.- If you ever read Twilight, I recommend a story on mediaminer.org called `Two Sides of a Coin' by Moonlight_Angel. She's my bestie and her story is awesome! If you like emo sisters, evil, funny, and chaos CHECK IT OUT!

R&R please?

And another thing, WHY DO I KEEP GETTING VIEWS ON MY FIRST STORY AND ONE-SHOT, AND THIS ONE STAYS THE SAME?! Can I get at least more reviews? How can you read and not have anything to say? It's not like I'm gonna bite you or anything, jeez! Can't you read, then tell a friend, and then tell that friend to tell a friend? I'll just update that much slower, I swear! Less reviews, less updates. That's how it is, sorry! T.T