Endeavour
-X-
Summary: She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sakura, as a result of her foolish actions, found herself eight years in the past, where things were not quite the same as she remembered.
Pairing: KakaSaku
Genre: Romance / Drama
Rating: T
Disclaimer: The anime/manga Naruto and its characters belong rightfully to Masashi Kishimoto.
Important Note(s): This story is canon all the way up to Naruto and Sasuke's final fight after the war. In saying so, this does contain spoilers for people who only watch the anime. I've decided to make Sakura twenty in this story. This means the war didn't begin until Sakura was seventeen and lasted three years (not in a few days, which was depicted in the manga (which, by the way, was a bit far-fetched in my opinion)). Here's a prologue to get you guys started. I know I have a lot of other fics which are way overdue for an update but this plot has been stuck in mind these last few days. Hope you enjoy this! Please read and review! PS: All my chapters are/will be un-beta-ed so beware of glaringly obvious grammatical errors.
-X-
Prologue:
Many things begin and end with similar situations. She could hear the blood pulsing in her head as she observed the scene play out before her. The wind picked up wildly in the cold, wet lands of the Valley of the End, bringing up mud and debris. Her eyes stung badly but they remained wide open. Tsunade's stern voice resonated through her head. "Never close your eyes in front of the enemy."But was she faced with an enemy here?
The Fourth Shinobi World War had finally come to a close at the defeat of Ĺtsutsuki Kaguya. Even the powerful Mother of Chakra was powerless against the combined force of Team Seven. Although Sakura was very much involved in the battle, she knew clearly that the outcome was only possible due to Naruto and Sasuke's effort. As frustrating as it was for her to admit, she would have been long dead if it wasn't for the shinobi currently battling it out before her. Watching the scene before her only added to her growing frustration and helplessness. This wasn't supposed to be happening. The war's conclusion should have been a joyous eventuality, certainly not one that involved her two boys fighting it out with one another in a grueling death match.
Sakura's eye pricked with salted tears as the scene before her unfolded. She heard Kakashi sighed from beside her and her grip on his waist tightened with apprehension, steadying her sensei's exhausted form. The battle against his ex-teammate, Uchiha Obito had pushed him beyond his limit. Sakura admired the fact that he was still conscious after multiple use of his Mangekyou Sharingan. He was definitely living up to his name Kakashi of the Sharingan. Sadly, those days for the renowned shinobi were now over from the moment Uchiha Madara stole his eye. Now, he was just a man. A man, once the esteemed leader of Team Seven, who was now powerless at stopping his two students from killing one another.
Sasuke's declaration on the elimination of the current Kages had been a surprise to everyone. Sakura wanted to cry after hearing the raven-haired shinobi's words. At the age of twenty, Sakura had shed her fair share of tears. Most of which involved the Uchiha before her. Despite not being ignorant, a small part of Sakura, the part which still clung firmly to the belief that everything would return to how they once was in the past, refused to acknowledge the change in Sasuke. Which led to Sakura confessing her sentiments towards her ex-teammate. She knew what she was doing was foolish and unbefitting of a shinobi, yet she wanted her voice to be heard by the boy whom she once fell for.
"You're annoying," was the response graced by the Uchiha before his hand protruded from her chest, straight through her heart.
She awoke after what seemed like years and found Kakashi's worried face hovered over her conscious form. "You're awake," he murmured, steadying her as she got up shakily from the ground.
"Where's Naruto and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked softly, although the answer was already clear to her.
Kakashi's eyes closed in response but not before Sakura noticed the flicker of anguish within his onyx eyes. "Let's go find them."
The pink-haired kunoichi nodded and with that they found themselves at the Valley of the End, witnessing the remaining members of their team exchanging blows. Both shinobi were evenly matched with Sasuke's Chidori formed in one hand and Naruto's own signature jutsu, Rasengan in his own. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat as her mind instantly replayed her a similar scene back when she witnessed Naruto and Sasuke's fight brawl on the hospital roof. She remembered clearly the way both her boys charged at one another in a murderous attempt. She remembered the way her mind went blank as she charged blindly into the battlefront. If not for Kakashi's interference, Sakura knew the outcome would have been fair more disastrous.
However now, with Kakashi on the brink of an incapacitated state, there was no way of stopping them. Sakura lowered Kakashi onto the ground, paying no heed to the puzzled yet wary look the silver-haired shinobi sent her.
Sakura was, by no means, stupid in anyway. Yet, she questioned herself whether or not she would be making the right choice if she interfered with their fight right there and then. The last time she attempted such a thing Naruto had reprimanded her on her actions and her cowardice made her back away from interfering any further with Naruto and Sasuke's conflict. She knew she was weak and a burden to her team, to Naruto.
Still, she had to do something.
With the remaining chakra that she had, Sakura made a leap towards the boisterous blonde whom had become an important part of her life, and the man whom she had once loved. Faintly she could make out Kakashi screaming her name and the gasp from Naruto. She was no longer the weak, little kunoichi from back then. At the age of twenty, her medical ninjutsu was well-known throughout the five nations as second-best only to Tsunade and her chakra-enhanced strength was nothing to laugh at, especially not with her recent mastery of the Byakugou no Jutsu. She was Haruno Sakura, apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, and a member of the broken Team Seven.
As Naruto and Sasuke approached her with their final blow, Sakura smiled with an expression of equanimity through her tears and closed her eyes.
She was just a girl who wanted her family back.
Then, darkness engulfed her.
-X-
Author's Notes: I realize it's a bit short but the following chapters will be longer, I promise. Let me know what you guys think. Would appreciate some feedback. Thanks for reading!
-X-
-Setsuna