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The Butterfly	By : tealeaf Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1742 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
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Disclaimer: Naruto�s not mine.
A/N: Thank you so so much to everyone who�s reviewed! I Really
appreciate it, you have no idea how much it means to me to have someone not
only acknowledge but even think enough about my work to comment. You guys have
totally inspired me. I woke up this morning at 7 and read the reviews and
became almost giddy with will to write. The result being this, Chapter 3! I
hope you like it, once again; all comments are welcome and thank you again to
everyone who already has.

~~~

The Butterfly
Chapter 3

~~~

She heard steps; a soft rustling of the undergrowth came
from her left. The butterflies that had been perching on her all took off
simultaneously. She felt a vague impression of anger from them, as if upset
that their alone time with her had been interrupted. Her inner self smiled in a
self-deprecatory way, even the butterflies thought of her as their charge.

A figure emerged from the shadows of the trees; he wasn�t
very tall, probably the same height as her (about 5�7�) or maybe even a little
shorter. His auburn hair had grown out, now covering the tattoo on his forehead
with shaggy bangs; the longer strands in the back had been pulled into a
ponytail at the base of his skull. He was still skinny, he still didn�t eat
very much, but he was physically stronger than her used to be. He could now
rely on his own body to defend him and not a chakra consuming armor of sand.
Her favorite change had to be his eyes though; once they had been completely
surrounded with the sooty markings of insomnia but they had faded. They were
still there, but more of a bruised purple color than coal black.

He could sleep now.

It was more out of habit that he didn�t.

He smiled at her, and she did her best to smile back as he
came and sat beside her. A younger butterfly, blue and black in color, tried to
land on him. Sand suddenly appeared, blocking Gaara�s skin from the jealous
butterfly that had tried to use its poison on him. Though its poison would only
have induced mild drowsiness, it still shocked Sakura that the butterfly would
consider her friend a threat.

Even the butterflies treated her like a possession.

Gaara turned to look at her.

She looked back.

His hand rose to push a few stray strands of pink hair that
had fallen lose behind her ear so that he could get a better look at her face.
The fingers from the same hand shifted to trace lightly along the black smudges
under her eye.

Normally, she didn�t really like being touched anymore. But
she had never minded when Gaara did it; he never did it for any other reason
than to better grasp any kind of sensorial information.

But that wasn�t why she let him.

She let him because he had been forced to go the majority of
his life without the ability to use henseense of touch, a sense that had always
been very important to her. So she let him out of sympathy. He couldn�t touch
then, she couldn�t touch now. Her skin was poisonous.

�You haven�t been sleeping.� he said simply.

�No, I haven�t.� she responded.

He looked sad.

�Why do you let your demons control you?� he questioned
softly after a moment as he looked away.

She didn�t answer; she just looked away as well. She closed
her eyes softly and opened them again.

Gaara was gone. There were no imprints in the grass where he
had been.

Sakura sighed.

In her opinion, narcolepsy was infinitely worse than
insomnia. At least with insomnia, she knew she was awake. With narcolepsy, she
couldn�t tell awake from asleep, reality from dreams. To top it off, narcoleptic
sleep never left her feeling rested, only more confused.

She rose from the field and started walking back to the
town. She avoided the hero monument.

She avoided the bridge.

She crossed at another spot and wandered through the
streets.

�SAKURA!� a cheery voice called to her.

She turned, surprised to find herself in front of the
Yamanaka flower shop. Ino was waving as she rounded the counter to greet her.

With a resigned sigh Sakura turned into the shop and was
almost immediately engulfed in a suffocating hug from Ino.

Ino must be in a good mood today.

Over the years, as the rivalry had disintegrated (Ino had
won having dated him for two months after his return), they had re-become
�friends�. At least, Ino had started treating her like a best friend again.
Sakura had simply stopped picking fights with her.

She�d stopped picking fights with everyone.

�What have you done to yourself? You look terrible!� Ino was
saying dramatically as she took in Sakura�s messy hair, black smudged eyes and
slightly gaunt cheeks.

She hasn�t been sleeping or eating nearly enough Ino
thought slightly worried.

What really worried her though were the questionable
bandages around her forearms.

Sakura shrugged slightly.

�Well, it�s your lucky day! I�m feeling beautiful and
charitable today so I�m going to make you beautiful again!� Ino exclaimed.
�Just like old times� she added with a soft smile.

Yeah�just like old times� she silently agreed.

Ino looked beautiful today, like she always did. Her platinum
blonde hair had grown back out as well and was held in a low ponytail over her
right shoulder. Long and elegant earrings dangled from her lobes. Her face had
grown even more beautiful as age had defined it and her subtle but perfectly
applied makeup only enhanced.

She slept perfectly.

What was the biggest similarity though was Ino�s bright ice
blue eyes, they were so happy. She knew her own were most certainly not.

Just like old times�just like every time�

While she�d been musing, Ino had been busy untangling the
elastic from her hair. It had dried in the mess and was now rather wavy as
opposed to her normally straight. Ino had grabbed a brush fromewhmewhere and
was patiently detangling the long pink strands.

It had been a long time since someone had brushed her hair
for her. Not since that one time Kakashi-sensei had been trying to comfort her
after her parents had died. He�d always been very kind to her.

She hadn�t seen him in a long time.

Ino was done brushing her hair now and had been chattering
on about how wonderful things were between she and Shikamaru. The pair had
finally hooked up almost two years ago now. Most had been surprised it had
taken them so long. She hadn�t been. She knew Ino and Ino was a coward when
real emotions were concerned. It hadn�t been real emotions for her with Sasuke,
but it was real emotions when it came to Shikamaru.

�We�re thinking about moving in together soon.� Ino was
saying as she wandered over to a shelf and picked up two beautiful pink and
white orchids.

She made a slight noncommittal sound thaowedowed she was
listening and Ino went on, happy to be able to chatter her heart out as she
wove the orchids and the hair by her left ear into a smallish braid, securing
the flowers along the hairline by her left temple and ear.

�There, perfect!� Ino exclaimed as she looked at her work of
art and found a mirror to show her.
She stared.

Ino always had gotten better marks in flower arranging�

Dead eyes stared back.

The flowers didn�t suit her anymore; they made her look like
she was twelve again.

She wasn�t twelve anymore though.

She smiled slightly, but it never reached her eyes, and
thanked Ino quietly before saying she had an errand to run and leaving the
shop.

Ino watched her go, eyes full of worry.

�What�s wrong?� Shikamaru asked as he entered shopshop and
walked over to her.

He pulled her lightly into her arms and Ino was grateful to
have him there to lean on.

�Its Sakura�she�s getting worse.� She saidetlyetly.

Shikamaru frowned slightly and hugged Ino a little tighter.

~~~

mal>Sakura walked on, finding her way to the Hokage tower. Maybe
she�d finally have a mission, a distraction.

She made her way to Tsunade�s office; the door was open so
she walked in.

Tsunade looked up as she heard her enter and smiled somewhat
reservedly at her.

She�s getting worse�was Tsunade�s only thought as she
saw the black smudges under her eyes, and noticed the freshly dried blood
marring the bandages on her arms.

Tsunade knew for a fact that she hadn�t been in a real combat
for almost two years now and her only sparring partner was Rock Lee who could
barely dare to throw a punch at her, let alone anything sharp.

Those were self-inflicted.

�Are there any missions today?� she asked bluntly.

Tsunade bit her lip slightly. She didn�t want to send her on
miss. Sh. She was just too unstable. She might do something dangerous or she
might even be desperate enough and get herself killed.n
sn
style="mso-spacerun: yes">

�No, I�m afraid we don�t have anything suitable for you�
Tsunade said with a slightly strained voice.

Despite your rank, you�re too weak for the A and B rank
missions but I don�t want to insult you by sending you on a C rank is what she understood.

It was the same routine
everyday.

She nodded slightly before
tug ang and leaving.

Tsunade sighed and leaned
back in her chair. She knew that she wasn�t helping Sakura by denying her her
position among the Konoha ninjas but she just couldn�t bring herself to send
her on a mission. It felt too much like signing Sakura�s death warrant.

But watching her
disintegrate and rot here�she almost felt like she�d signed her death warrant
regardless.
l'>
If only Kakashi were still
here�he�d seemed to reach her after her parents death�no one else had.

But Kakashi was missing.

He�d left along with a group of hunter nins about three
years ago to take down the Akatsuki. They�d succeeded and most of the hunters
had returned.

Kakashi had not.

Whether he was dead or not was undetermined but at this
point there were only threesiblsible explanations: 1) he was dead, 2) he had
severe amnesia and didn�t remember who he was or where he was from and so
couldn�t return or�3) he�d consciously abandoned the village and was now a
missing nin.

Tsunade secretly hoped he was dead, it was the best fate he
could have.
ndifndif]>
~~~

Sakura found herself on the bridge.

She wasn�t sure if she was awake or not. She didn�t feel
awake but she didn�t really feel asleep either.

She felt like she was twelve. Any moment now Naruto was
going to rush up shouting �Sakura-chan� and the top of his lungs.

No one called her �Sakura-chan� anymore�

And then from the woods, he would emerge, smirk at Naruto�s
antics, ignore her and sit under a tree.

Then they would wait until suddenly with a puff of smoke
Kakashi would show up with some lame, made up excuse for his lateness.

Of the three things, the last was the least likely.

For the first year, she�d kept coming everyday and waited.
She�d kept expecting him to just pop up and apologize for being so late,
claiming he�d had to save a village from an army of ogres and then save a
damsel in distress from a dragon.

Or some such nonsense.
as]>
She missed his nonsense.

He�d been like a parent to her, had even invited her to stay
with him after her parents had died. But now he�d left her too.

Everyone left her.

She sighed and rested her arms and the bridges railings,
waiting.

She was always waiting.

�Why do you let your demons control you?�

She bit her lip and stared down at the water.

~~~

Tsunade looked up in surprise as Sakura entered her office
for the second time today.

Had her mental health deteriorated so much that she thought
they were already the next day?

�Do you have any missions for me?� She asked firmly,
determination in her eyes.

Tsunade was stunned, this was the first time she had been
determined about anything in years. Tsunade shook her head slightly.

�Will yoer her have any missions for me?� she asked, now she
seemed slightly pained.

Why was she so emotional today?

Tsunade�s heart clenched as she bit her lip and a pained
expression colored her eyes.

She looked down and shook her head again.

Sakura closed her eyes briefly. She�d expected as much, but
the truth still hurt.

She really was useless here.

She looked at Tsunade. The Hokage looked like she was in
pain, as if some poison were seeping through her blood.

She was that poison.

Her resolve firmed and she lifted her chin.

�I�m leaving.� She said simply.

Tsunade�s head snapped up and she stared at her in shock.

�What? Why?!� she questioned, almost desperately. She
couldn�t let Sakura go and get herself killed in the real world, Kakashi had
asked her to look after her for him when he�d left.

Sakura simply stared back at her and suddenly it hit her
what a poor job she�d done in fulfilling her promise.

�Will you return?� she asked now resignedly, she looked
older�for the first time, Tsunade felt old.

�I don�t know.� She answered simply.

Tsunade nodded, her head falling. She just couldn�t look at
the girl anymore.

She heard something being placed on her desk and then heard
the girl leave.

Tsunade looked up then. On her desk lay Sakura�s leaf
forehead protector.

Tsunade�s hand raised and rubbed her chest, over her heart.
That spunky little girl she�d liked so much really was gone.

Naruto would throw a fit when he returned.

~~~

The sun was starting to lower, it was mid afternoon. She
made her way through the streets of the village.

She owed some goodbyes.

The first stop had been the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino had
been surprised to see her again, seeing Sakura twice in one day was a great
rarity.

Even rarer had been that Sakura had spoken. She�d thanked
Ino for her friendship and for everything she�d done for her.

She�d smiled.

It had been a small and sad smile, but it had been a smile.
She�d said goodbye as she left.

She�d never said goodbye.

For some reason Ino didn�t really understand yet, as she�d
watched Sakura�s retreating back, she hadn�t been surprised.

Inl>Ino had then called to her mother in the backroom; she�d
needed to leave for a minute.

She�d needed to tell him she was leaving, she�d known that
she wouldn�t.

~~~

Hinata had answered the door.

Naruto wasn�t home, he was on a mission. He wasn�t due to
return for another two days.

Sakura couldn�t wait.

�Just tell him thanks for me, ok? And�and tell him goodbye�
Sakura had said with a small, sad smile.

Hinata had frowned slightly, confused by the request and not
quite understanding why Sakura wouldn�t be here two days from now, but had
agreed to comply with her request.

Then she�d gone to bridbridge.

She�d stood there for a long time, staring at the water.
Making her peace with the past.

This was the last time she would be here.

I�m sorry Kakashi-sensei�but I just can�t wait for you
anymore. I�ve become a poison and I�m dying from it. Maybe�somewhere
else�there�s a cure�I�m sure there isn�t one here.

She looked up at the canopy of the bridge, specifically to
the bar he always appeared on.

�Goodbye.� She whispered.

~~~

The sun was starting the set, the light fading away as she
had faded away.

How appropriate.

Her meager belongings had been packed into an old backpack;
her money had been hidden in an inner pocket of her pants. She�d pulled her
lose hair into a long braid, incorporating the smaller braid and flowers that
Ino had put there earlier.

She couldn�t bring herself to take them out just yet.

She stared at the gate as the guards opened it for her. She
took a deep breath and winced as she heall tll too familiar footsteps rushing
towards her.

He stopped five feet behind her.

�What are you doing?� he demanded in his deep, dark voice.

She raised her head and looked contemplatively at the world
beyond the village.

�I�m leaving.� She said simply.

Something inside him tensed suddenly.

�Leaving? Just like that? You weren�t even going to say
goodbye?� he demanded anger covering the hurt as he took a step towards her.

�Did you ever tell me goodbye?� she asked softly.

He froze and looked away.

�Why?� he questioned, calmer now as he raised his eyes to
her.

�Why not?� she countered softly as she turned to look at
him.

He didn�t answer.

She stared at him, held his eyes for a minute�two minutes�an
hour�he couldn�t tell.

Then she looked away and an overwhelming sense of loss
overcame him.

�I gave you much better reasons to stay.� She said simply as
she turned away.

He collapsed to his knees.

She walked away.

He let her leave.

She didn�t look back.

He watched her back disappear.

The gate closed.
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The Butterfly