Home
When they set foot past the Konoha gates and its guards the sun is overhead, and judging by the shadows it’s about three o’clock. The slight breeze in the air has the smell of dirt and trees, the smell of peace with no tinge of blood or fire in the air. From where they stand at the entrance Sakura can see civilians walking around without a care in the world, kids are running with their laughs ringing through the air. It’s a beautiful day, a stark contrast from the storm they were just in… or was this the calm?
Kakashi turns to the team with a smile. “Well Tenzo and I are going to go make this report, while we are doing so I want you all to play nice, eh?” He pats Sasuke on the head messing up his hair deliberately.
Sasuke pulls back and hits Kakashi’s arm away. “Don’t you have a doctors appointment you gotta get to?”
“Awww worried about your Sensei? I’m proud of you, Sasuke, that’s what’s called growth. The most you did on this mission.” Kakashi turns and takes off with Tenzo following suit.
Sasuke scoffs and looks over at Naruto and Sai then starts walking away. “I’m going home.”
Naruto nods and looks over at Sai and Sakura but Sai beats him to it.
“I have errands.” Sai takes off. Sakura watches as the team all take their leave with relief. They don’t realize it but Kakashi and Tenzo had been over confident in this teams ability to keep watch on her, she tries very hard not to smirk when she hears Naruto shout at her.
“Well I’m not babysitting!” Naruto crosses his arms and turns from Sakura not sparing her another glance. He’s still hurting from the revelation he’s had on this mission and he isn’t about to be Mr. Nice Guy and so he takes off.
Sakura shrugs as Naruto leaves.
As soon as the coast is clear Sakura sneaks off into the shadows, it’s not only her team she has to watch for. The last person she wants to run into now are Ino and her team. And Shikamaru… he was enough for her to want to sink to her knees in despair. All her precious people are gone, and he was one of the rough ones that with each war ground him into a man that was shining through the shadows. He killed mercilessly and was loyal to Naruto to the end. He also became one of the tools Danzo loved to use the most and with that came a high cost. They lost Shikamaru well before he died.
Ino, Hinata, and Tenten became her sisters in war and their kunoichi blood was one to be reckoned with. They infiltrated using their beauty and annihilated their enemies with subtle force that left their enemies wondering: Is this a heart attack or a brain aneurism? Never was it seen as an assassination. They were Danzo’s favorite to use however he wanted, whenever he wanted. Sadly their techniques didn't work on him, that was how Hinata- STOP!
She leans against the alley wall in the shadows clenching her fists and focusing her breathing. Getting worked up now is pointless, they are all gone from her now, even in her world Danzo was killed but not before he destroyed all hope. Sakura shakes her head, she can’t think like this anymore, she has to focus! And she knows exactly where to go.
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Kakashi and Tenzo are finally finished with their report and they provided all the details they could think of regarding the sudden lightening and thunder storm they were hit with.
“It’s unfortunate, but it looks like this will not be an issue we can brush off. With Suna already having so many casualties due to heat of all things. This is a nation who has withstood this type of temperature for decades.” The young Hokage frowns, his brow narrowed and his mouth pierced.
Kakashi and Tenzo remain silent as the Hokage takes a minute to take out a folder and shuffles through it’s contents, taking out a document and placing it atop of the desk.
“It would best if we made a treaty with other villages who are going through similar catastrophes due to weather so we can share more information on this weird occurrence. Which leads me into believing this sort of issue is best left in the hands of scientists rather than our military.” The Hokage picks up the document he has before him and holds it out to Kakashi. It's a list of names.
“I have already assembled our top scientists from a small civilian research center that specializes in meteorology, and fortunately they were already aware of what has been going on and were able to tell me that, yes, there is need for concern.” The Hokage sighs and puts his hands together, “I already spoke to Shikaku about doing drills to the shelter with the civilian residence. Perhaps even get our media involved with educational bits on how to prepare. Dangerous weather is not something to reckon with.”
“KAKASHI!!!” The door slams open, dust and debris fly around.
“Speaking of storm…” Kakashi mutters. Tsunade's finally here, and here he had a glimmer of hope he could escape her wrath.
“Oh I’m sorry, Kakashi! Look at the time!” The Hokage smiles apologetically. “Honey! It’s not his fault.”
“Don’t even start, Dan!” Tsunade stalks over to Kakashi who is trying very hard not to run away is yanked down by Tsunade's arm going around his neck and pulling him down so his face is in her side boob. Kakashi brings his hands to her forearm trying to escape. Oh, to be manhandled by the Hokage’s wife in front of the Hokage, how wonderful, Kakashi could die right now if he wanted.
“Pl-please… Tsu——Nu-“ Kakashi is choking and can barely breathe. The others are speaking around him but he can’t hear them, oh, now they’re all laughing. Glad they find this funny….
He’s suddenly let go and meets Tenzo’s gleeful eyes and he looks away. He’s gonna kick his ass later.
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Sasuke takes a deep breath, finally home, thank Kami. He looks over at his mother who is in the kitchen working on dinner, she has her hair up and an apron on with little flowers. He smiles and goes over to her.
“What are you making, Mom?” He asks looking over her shoulder.
There’s a pile of tomatoes and basil in a bowl.
“Only your favorite. Thought you would like it after your long mission. You should go get cleaned up.” She looks to him and smiles before kissing his forehead. “Glad you’re home, but you’re dirty. Oh and you should talk to your brother.”
“Huh? Itachi… what does he want?” He asks taking off down towards his room.
After he is cleaned up he goes to search for his brother. He’s almost surprised Itachi is home, now that Itachi has moved out on his own he doesn't come over as often. It’s traditional for the Uchiha to stay inside the compound, but his brother along with many other Uchiha's who grew up through a more rebellious time decided to leave and live outside of the compound. They had stated it was a start to a new era. Sasuke doesn’t really understand, but what he does know is his stoic and traditional father still supported Itachi during this time, unlike some.
Sasuke looks up to his father for that exact reason, he is strong and has his own beliefs but at the end of the day he is their father and he would do anything for them. Sasuke is in front of his father’s office and knocks twice.
“Come in.”
He walks into his father’s office, it’s dimly lit, no windows and the wall is painted a dark red with few paintings hanging up that have been handed down from the generations. The only light is a gold lamp on his father’s oak desk and all the paperwork uniform and in order sitting to his right. The smell of wood and paper with a small hint of cologne lingers in the air due to the lack of air circulation in the room as the door is always closed. His father is the Chief of police and is soon ready to retire. The police department which had started with only Uchiha’s expanded to other clans as soon as Dan became Hokage. The police department was meant to separate civilian issues from ninja issues, as there are different rules and regulations and sometimes when there were incidences between the two it could get messy.
Sasuke never wanted to be a police officer but some days he just wants to make his father proud. He walks up to his father who is bent over some document with his eye glasses on and a magnifying glass before him.
“They make print so tiny these days.” He puts down the magnifying glass. “How was your mission?”
“It was successful however we ran into a really bad storm on the way home.” He informs his father of what had occurred and his concerns. The elder Uchiha listens while putting his documents away and taking off his glasses.
“Yes, the Hokage is already going to be doing drills with the civilians to the bunkers in case something like this happens here. Suna has been hit really bad with temperatures hitting 105 degrees.” His father rubs his forehead. “Never thought I would live to see us facing the weather as an enemy. We will have to be prepared and learn as much as we can about this. Keep your eyes and ears open, Sasuke, and remember that it’s times like this is when our other enemies appear. Never let your guard down.”
Sasuke nods and bows, “Yes, thank you father.”
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Naruto throws the door open and it slams against the wall, “I’m home!!” He shouts and is met with his mother jumping in front of him with a pan.
“You’re so loud, you know! You scared the crap out of me! And don’t go slamming in here like that!” Kushina shouts back at Naruto and is about ready to go into a tirade when she notices her sons sudden change in expression. She's never seen his face like that, so broken.
“Mom!” Naruto pulls her into a hug taking in her floral scent and her soft embrace, his heart swelling with relief as he feels her hold him back.
“What’s wrong, honey?” She rubs his head.
Naruto breaks down, tears falling and he holds her tighter. “She’s gone, ya know. She really is… I thought…” He tries to hold back his sob but it comes out warbled anyway.
“Hey, hey, who’s gone?”
“Sa’kra,” He pulls back and wipes his face and turns from her. “She’s..”
“What! What happened on the mission!” His mother grabs his arm and tries to look him in the eyes. “What happened?”
He shakes his head, “The mission was fine… It happened before, I don’t understand it mom, but somehow the Sakura who is here isn’t our Sakura.” He moans and pulls from her grasp and sits on the couch.
The red haired Uzumaki frowns and turns to Minato who has just walked in from having a shower, his brown lounge clothes on and a small towel in hand to dry his hair. “What’s going on?”
Minato shakes out his hair towel and stops in his tracks when he spots Naruto’s posture on the couch sniffling here and there. He looks back over at his wife who has her arms crossed and meets him with a look.
“Sakura." She states, "What happened, Minato?” Kushina stares him down. Even though she didn't know that he knew, she stared at him with such conviction that he DID know. A shiver creeps down his spine. But did she actually know he knew? Oh right, women know everything. He chuckles nervously. If he thought the Hokage was going to be bad telling, well he never thought about Kushina’s reaction.. Hindsight really is a funny thing.
“I don’t know… what happened to Sakura, Naruto?” He turns his eyes to his son giving him a look but it's pointless as his son isn't even looking at him. Why did you have to tell your mother now, he sighs.
“She’s not really our Sakura, Dad! What do you think?! She's my everything! I love her!” Naruto stands up facing his father. “And you knew, I thought this was all a joke but-but…”
Kushina gasps and brings a hand to her mouth and looks back to Minato, a pained expression across her face. Minato frowns as well, his heart aching for his son.
“Where is Sakura, Naruto?” Minato suddenly asks, and Kushina slaps his arm,
“She’s… well…” Naruto stops sniffing and wrinkles his nose. “I dunno… I came home once we got back.”
“Tell me that someone stayed with her.” Minato says sternly. “Sasuke’s with her, right?”
Naruto stiffens and shakes his head. “About that… we all headed home so… I don’t know where she went since…” He shrugs. “What does it matter anyway!”
Minato groans and rubs his face. Kami threw him a curve rasengan with this child, he looks over at Kushina whose hair is getting redder by the minute, her eyes also flicker a red spark.
Oh boy… He turns to his wife. “I will explain all of this later, I promise. Naruto, we need to go find Sakura right now.” He says then heads to his room to change while hoping the pinkette isn’t destroying, maiming, sabotaging, hmmm what else… etc, etc, etc. Please Kami.