Chapter 15 - Realization, Denial

Sakura lay there, staring at the ceiling, listening to Hisako’s even breaths next to her. For the first time in about a week, her thoughts turned to Sasuke. Dark, mysterious, enigmatic Sasuke. Those dark, lonely eyes had haunted her many a night. She knew that when she and Ino got into it in front of him, it just annoyed him. Everything annoyed him, it seemed. She wondered why she still trotted after him. It was totally one-sided… An unrequieted love. A bit like Naruto’s feelings toward her, actually. She felt bad for Naruto. Sakura thought about promising to try to be nicer to him, but she knew that would fail.

She ran her fingers through her short hair thoughtfully. She was still bothered by what happened during the Chuunin exams.

Sasuke-kun will seek me out… in search of power.

Orochimaru made that ominous promise after he had bitten Sasuke on the neck, leaving him with the curse mark. But Sasuke was powerful already, and his strength was growing by the day. What would Sasuke need such power for? So much power that he would abandon his home, his friends, here in the Leaf Village? It didn’t make sense.

My ambitions… Well, I plan to restore the Uchiha clan and… to kill a certain man, no matter what.

Could it be that whoever he planned on killing was so powerful that even Sasuke needed to rely on other powers to accomplish his goal? Who could possibly be that powerful? She couldn’t let him fall to his inner darkness. Sakura knew that – love or no – Sasuke-kun was important to her and she would do anything to keep him here, where he belonged. Here, with her and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei.

She was snapped out of her thought as Hisako stirred next to her. Her eyes slid shut as the girl gently got out of the bed and smoothed the sheets. Hisako dressed in the darkness as Sakura breathed evenly, facing away.

“Couldn’t sleep, eh, Sakura-chan?” Hisako whispered, her quiet voice breaking the pre-morning silence.

Busted.

“Mmhm,” Sakura murmured, not bothering to form a complete response.

“I’m going to go spar with Neji-kun today. If there are any more developments, you know where to find me. I…” Sakura sat up as Hisako paused with a thoughtful expression on her face; she seemd to be on the verge of saying something more. “I hope things work out for you,” she finished, clearly not saying what she thought about saying.

Sakura nodded, smiling at Hisako. She was glad that her friend cared. As hisako gathered up her things, she walked by Sakura and ruffled her hair affectionately. She headed for the window and paused, her fingers on the window frame. Hisako’s eyes met Sakura’s, her expression serious.

“Be careful, okay? If things between the two of you go much further… Both of you will be in more trouble than you can imagine. Watch your step, Sa-chan.”

Sakura sighed, smiling at Hisako’s use of her childhood pet name. She didn’t let anyone else call her that.

I know that, Hisa-chan. I know. It’s not like she’d seriously go after Kakashi-sensei. But… something about him drew her in a way even she didn’t understand. She wanted to matter to him. And that scared her. Wasn’t that how she felt about Sasuke-kun? Her eyes widened in shock. No way. Absolutely no way. Sakura shook her head, her pink hair whipping back and forth across her face. Her fingers knotted in her hair and she rested her elbows on her knees.

There was no way she was in love with Kakashi Hatake. There was no way she was in love with her teacher.

--

Hisako stood a yard’s length away from Neji Hyuuga, with her knees slightly bend and her feet almost shoulder’s length apart. She had one arm behind her back. Her other arm was tucked into her side at the elbow, at about a forty-five degree angle from her shoulder, her palm flat and facing her face. Neji spread his feet apart and put one palm facing outward while holding his other arm close to his side, his fist even with his hip. He regarded Hisako silently with his pale eyes.

“Please be patient with me, Neji-kun,” Hisako said with a bow, momentarily relaxing her stance.

“Think nothing of it, Hisako-san. I am anxious to see your progression – after all, before the incident at the Chuunin exams, you were training with Lee on almost a daily basis. His taijutsu is far superior to mine, so I do hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t live up to your expectations,” Neji replied, mirroring her bow.

She smirked in response, and called out, “Shall we begin?”

“Let’s go!” Neji called back, and charged at her.

--

In the midst of their sparring, Neji was vaguely aware of someone watching them from the landing above. He wondered in the corner of his mind who the person was, and if Hisako had noticed. Their eyes met, and he read the understanding in hers. So she did notice. Hmm. Is it… ANBU? His thoughts were snapped out of his head as Hisako sent him flying with a kick to the gut.

“Neji-kun!” She cried out, alarmed. She hadn’t noticed his guard drop. She ran over to him, kneeling beside him as he grasped his stomach, wincing. “Neji-kun, I am so sorry! I hadn’t realized…” She trailed off as she glanced at the landing overlooking their training floor. A tall man leaned against the ledge, observing them both. He had large eyes that reminded Hiskao of onyx. He had a wide mouth, and a full lower lip. A straight nose sat squarely between his eyes, and a mask-style headband covered his whole forehead and contoured his jawline. It reminded her of something similar on one of the faces on the Hokage monuments. The neck of his shirt covered his wide chin, conforming to a firm square jaw. She followed the contours of the part of his body she could see. Strong, broad shoulders were hunched forward, and he had sturdy biceps that connected to slender but powerfully built forearms that supported his weight. His hands, large and square, were pressed together, and his long and slender fingers were interlaced. The man’s short, disheveled dark brown hair swayed a bit in the slight breeze, playing at the base of his exposed neck.

She regarded him appreciatively while she helped Neji to his feet. Whoever this man was, he was no ordinary shinobi. His well-built frame exuded quiet power. He watched the two of them, not giving any acknowledgement that he knew she’d just thoroughly checked him out. Even though she knew that he knew that she had.

“Neji-kun, who is that?” Hisako murmured, nodding to their observer. She never broke eye contact with the man, even while speaking to Neji.

“Well, if I had to venture a guess…” Neji replied in a low hushed tone. “ANBU. It seems that the elite has taken an interest in one, or the pair of us.”

ANBU? But the both of us are only Gennin. Even so, it would probably be Neji they’re after. I’m nothing special.

“Sorry to disappoint,” the stranger broke in, hopping over the ledge and joining them on the floor with graceful ease. His deep, melodic voice caught Hisako off-guard. “I was just passing through, and I saw the two of you sparring, so I thought I’d stick around to watch. I’m sorry for disturbing you,” he finished, his wide mouth pulling up at the corners in an apologetic grin.

“Oh, it’s no disturbance,” Hisako assured, waving her hand dismissively.

“That’s right,” Neji agreed. “I just got lost in my own thoughts, and Hisako-san here got the better of me.”

Their visitor laughed and said in an amused voice, “All right, then. Allow me to introduce myself properly. You can call me Tenzo.”

--

Tenzo, in truth, had been passing by when he saw their mock battle. Something about the fierce girl had intrigued him, and he stopped to watch. She was formidable. She put the Hyuuga boy on the defense almost as much as she herself was forced to defense. That’s no small feat when you’re going up against a Hyuuga.

When she actually managed to land a blow, his eyes widened. Compromised Neji Hyuuga’s “ultimate defense?” This was no ordinary kunoichi.

She had raised her head and met his eyes, holding them even as she helped Neji up. He felt those eyes wander across his upper body as if she had physically touched him. When the girl locked eyes with Tenzo, it was all he could do to not react. Those icy blue eyes seemed to peer straight through him.

He heard them talking about him below, and at the mention of ANBU he jumped down and joined them. True, he was in ANBU, but he wasn’t sent there by ANBU. No need in getting their hopes up just yet. After all, they’re only gennin.

--

NOTE: This encounter happened in the room where Sasuke and Lee had their little pre-exam duel, as shown here:

http://naruto-world.com/episode22/naruto22-06.jpg

--

Much to Kakashi’s delight, and chagrin, Sakura showed up bright and early that day for training. They acted no different than usual toward each other (or tried to, rather), but even Naruto and Sasuke could sense the tension between them.

Kakashi greeted Sakura with an innocent wave, saying, “Good morning, Sakura. You finally manage to put that book down?” His voice hit a deep, seductive note as he teased her, and he internally kicked himself while suppressing a wince. There went his plan for apathy.

Sakura’s eyes widened slightly, and her pulse skittered. His voice was making her think very inappropriate thoughts. She blushed as she realized he was talking about Makeout Paradise, and dropped her eyes, replying in a mumble, “No, I haven’t had the chance to finish it yet.”

“I see, I see. Well, then. I won’t spoil the ending for you,” he responded with another smile. “Okay, kids, let’s get to it.”

As the day wore on, Naruto would sometimes catch Sakura looking at Sasuke searchingly, and then Sasuke would cach her watching Kakashi in much the same manner. Sakura herself caught Kakashi watching her from time to time, and he wasn’t quick enough half the time to hide it from the boys.

Naruto’s and Sasuke’s thoughts were in sync, for probably the first time ever; Something’s not right here.

--

Chapter 16: http://www.fanart-central.net/chapter-100682.html

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