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Sakura's Realization	By : Naruto868 Category: Naruto AU/AR > General Views: 1157 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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: I own Naruto about as much as the bandits in this chapter do.
Chapter 3: Thieves and Old Friends

            The
next morning, Sakura woke up with a righteous headache. The few rays of light that broke
through the curtains seemed a lot brighter and a lot more painful than
usual. She knew she wasn�t a morning
person, but this is ridiculous.
She yawned softly, then slowly pushed Naruto awake. �Time to leave, Naruto,� she whispered.
            �Why
ya gotta talk so damn loud?� Naruto murmured. �Wha� what happened last night?�

            Together
Sakura and Naruto tried to piece together what had happened. They went to the bar with the
guys. Naruto insisted that he and
Sakura share only one little bottle of sake. However, that bottle never seemed to completely empty. As they finished up, and got ready to
leave, one of the guys winked at Naruto.
�Go get �er, tiger. Have
fun,� he said jovially.
            Naruto
took a second and then laughed himself.
�Oh, no. You�ve got it all
wrong. I�m not trying to do that.� If nothing else, this evoked more
laughter from the men. �We gotta
leave early tomorrow. Thanks for
the sake.�
            Once
they got into their room, which had two double beds, the sake really started to
take effect. Sakura sat down at
the desk, trying to plan out the next few days, but quickly dozed off. After a few minutes of watching some
TV, Naruto tried to wake Sakura up so she could sleep in bed.
            �Oy..
Shhakura-chan� wake up. Go to
shleep in bed, Shakura-chan,� he said.
As she woke up, she started moving in her chair. She tried to stand, and fell promptly
on her drunk ass. Naruto offered
her a hand, and she accepted. As
he pulled her slowly up off the ground, their faces got closer and closer. Once she was fully standing, their
faces were only two or three inches apart. Slowly, that distance began to shrink. Two inches� one and a half� one� a
half� Sakura�s lips quivered�

            �We
were drunk,� Naruto said hastily.
�It was just the sake. It
can do that to people. That�s it,
yeah.� He started laughing.
            �Of
course. That explains it,� Sakura
replied. She laughed in the same
denial-filled way. It wasn�t just the alcohol, Sakura realized. A part of me wanted that. I don�t know what part, but some part
of me did want that� The alcohol
just made the moment come more easily.
            Naruto
and Sakura changed into their shinobi outfits. Today, Naruto had something different on him. He sported a ninja-to under his very
loose jacket, as well as a small tanto on his belt. Sakura looked at him inquisitively as he was donning these
weapons. �Naruto,� she asked. �Where did you get those?�
            Naruto
smiled. �Ero-sennin bought me the
ninja-to for my birthday, and when Iruka-sensei found out, he got me the tanto
to go with it.� Naruto�s smile
broadened. �They�ve been teaching
me how to use them in combat.�
            After
buying some aspirin for their hangovers, and getting a quick breakfast, they
were set to venture out once again.
As they were leaving, the innkeeper stopped them. �Are you headed towards Wave
Country? You ought to know that
there�s a gang of bandits on that road.
No one seems to be able to get through��
            Naruto
grinned widely. �We�ll
manage. Thanks for the heads-up,
though.�

            �Naruto,�
Sakura said after a few hours of traveling. �I think we�re near where the innkeeper said the bandits
were hiding out.� Naruto motioned
for Sakura to stop for a minute, as he took off his jacket, and then the
ninja-to strapped onto his back.
He put the jacket back on, and then the ninja-to, so it was quite
obvious that he was armed.
            Sensing
Sakura�s confusion, he said, �They probably never fought ninjas before. If I�m right, they�ll at least let us
pass, if not run from us.� With
this, a shrill scream pierced the air.
Naruto jumped up as Sakura looked in the direction of the
scream. Within a second and a half
of hearing the scream, they were running towards its source.

            Several
thugs held a woman�s hands behind her back, snickering wickedly, as an old man
and a young boy stood, helpless.
The bandits� intent was painfully obvious. Suddenly appearing in front of the man and boy, Sakura and
Naruto stared the bandits down, ready for combat. Sakura had a kunai drawn and was in a classic protective
stance, while Naruto�s left hand had already drawn his tanto, and his right
tightly gripped the ninja-to over his shoulder.
            The
thugs, armed with swords, spears, staves, and other weapons that looked like
they were picked out of the trash, were surprised at the sudden appearance of
the two shinobi. After a few
seconds, the leader laughed out loud.
�Oohh, scary!� he drawled out in a long, overly sarcastic voice.
            Naruto
spoke sternly and authoritatively, in a voice Sakura had never heard him
use. �You will release the woman,�
he demanded, �and permit these people to pass. You will do it now.�
            This
seemed to weaken the resolve of some of the thugs for several seconds. Sakura, meanwhile, was partially
impressed with Naruto�s commanding voice, partially scared of the intent she
was sensing off of him, and all surprised at him. Is this really Naruto,
she thought. There�s
such a power in his voice.
            The
leader�s short, annoying laugh brought her out of her thoughts and back into
reality. �Really, do you think
we�re afraid of two little punks who think they can scare us with those knives
of yours? Please!�
Naruto motioned behind his back for
the man and boy to back up and give them some room for the upcoming fight. At the same time, he caught Sakura�s
attention by reflecting the sun off of his tanto into her eyes for a split
second. When she made eye contact
with him, he motioned with his head back towards the two. She nodded ever so slightly,
understanding how this fight was going to work.
            �You
two,� the leader shouted as he pointed at two of his underlings. �Teach these punks a lesson they�ll
take with them to an early grave.�
As the two stepped forward, Naruto nonchalantly stepped forward to meet
them, as Sakura tentatively stepped back.
            �Hah!�
one of the two barked at Naruto.
�Looks like your girlfriend there isn�t spoiling for a fight as much as
you are.�
            �Wahhaha!!�
The other one almost split his side laughing. �Look how much she blushed when you called her his girlfriend,� putting much emphasis on the last word.
            Naruto
didn�t even spare a look back.
�Please,� he said. �You�re just
trying to distract me. I�m no
fool.� Well, he thought with a grin. Maybe I am an
idiot, but they don�t have to know that. Sakura silently thanked the gods that
Naruto hadn�t turned around, or he would have seen that the thug was telling
the truth.
            Sakura
strategically placed herself directly behind Naruto, at the perfect distance to
defend the man and boy from an attack from any direction. The man gasped, but she had no time to
glance at him.
            Naruto,
meanwhile, released his grip on his sword, and put his tanto back in its
sheath, which made the thugs laugh even harder. Naruto spoke in the same hardened voice as before, �I don�t
like killing when it isn�t necessary, and I�m not yet skilled enough with these
weapons to avoid making critical strikes.� The bandits howled with laughter, and finally, the two he
was supposed to fight made their move.
            Sakura�s
eyes narrowed, and Naruto frowned as the two closed in on him. The bigger one, on the left, was
wielding a huge club, while the one on the right had a staff with a chain
wrapped around it. The bigger one
reached Naruto first, and came at him with club over his head. As the big man began to swing his club
downward, the young shinobi backflipped out of the way, and the club hit the
ground, producing a cloud of dust.
The other man came in from behind, attempting to thrust his staff into
one of Naruto�s kidneys. Naruto
dodged, but barely. It was then
that he realized his mistake. The
two of them were directly opposite each other: one directly on Naruto�s right,
the other directly on his left. A
look of shock appeared on his face, which the thugs took advantage of. Charging at him from either direction,
the thugs each prepared to hit him with a knockout blow. At the very last second, Naruto grinned,
and uttered, �Baka,� right before disappearing in a small poof of smoke. The two thugs were distracted, and
threw their aim off, and before they realized what they were doing, they hit
each other with their attacks, knocking the both of them out. Naruto reappeared out of nowhere and
took position right where he was before he disappeared.
            This
sudden change in the battle shocked the majority of the thugs, to say the
least. �C�mon, damnit! He�s only one kid. We can take him!� The leader tried to rally his cohorts.
            Naruto
closed his eyes and tilted his head downward slightly, his eyes in shadow. He began to gather chakra to where he
would need it, and after a second or two, he tilted his head back up. As light hit his eyes and his taunting
grin, he sneered, �Bring it on!�
            Ten
or twelve men charged at Naruto all at once. Some have swords.
Can�t block that with my hands�
Naruto whipped out his tanto in his left hand just as the first few bandits
reached him. Ducking low to avoid
a blunt force trauma to the head, he kicked out at one of the knees of his
enemies, breaking it. Rolling
backward out of the way, he avoided a downward chop from an axe. Jumping up to avoid a horizontal
strike, he kneed another bandit in the chin. Sensing what was coming next, he gathered chakra to his arm,
and spun around, tanto at the ready.
A downward chop from an old and rusted katana awaited him. Blocking with the blunt side of the
blade, he then proceeded to do a forward flip above his attacker�s head,
leaving one leg out to kick the attacker in the neck. Landing with his entire body close to the ground, he stuck
one leg out and did a 360 sweep, knocking down most of the thugs. One didn�t fall down, and this one
thrusted his spear at Naruto, who quickly vanished, and reappeared standing on
the attackers spear. Leaping off
of it, he jumped off of the man�s head and into an empty area. Three of the attackers managed to limp
to their feet.
            �That�s
it! Stop right there,� the leader
of the bandits commanded. He was
holding a knife to the woman�s throat.
�Well, well, well. Looks
like you lose. Back off, hand over
those nice weapons of yours, and give me all of your money, or this woman
dies.�
            Sakura
gasped, but the surprise had only started. Naruto sneered at the bandit. �You think I give a damn about that woman�s life,� Naruto
asked, much to the dismay of Sakura and the two she was protecting. �Go ahead. Kill her.�
            The
leader couldn�t take any more.
After being annoyed so much by these brats, he drew the blade across the
woman�s throat. The man gasped,
the boy gasped, Sakura closed her eyes and screamed. Naruto just smiled.
            After
the cut had been made, it seemed like time stood still, only the silhouette of
the thug and woman visible.
Slowly, time began to regain meaning. And there was a poof of smoke, revealing that the bandit
hadn�t cut into the throat of a woman, but a scarecrow. Another Naruto jumped down from the
trees behind Sakura and the two other victims. This Naruto was holding the unconscious woman in his
arms. Setting her down, he took
position next to Sakura.
            The
bandit�s mouth began moving, but no words were forming. As he began to process what just
happened, he dropped his blade and trembled with even more rage. Naruto got into a taunting defensive
stance similar to Lee�s fighting stance.
Sakura could see the arm behind his back twitching slightly, especially
the hand.
            The
thug charged at Naruto, barehanded.
With his extended hand, Naruto grabbed one of the attacker�s wrists, and
then brought his other hand around.
A ball of chakra seemed to have formed in his hand, rotating and
spinning in all directions at once.
Stepping into a deep offensive stance, he brought his hand up and into
the thug�s stomach, shouting, �Rasengan!�
The bandit was sent spinning backward into a tree, screaming until
getting knocked out upon impact with the tree.
            The
attacking Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke. Sakura sighed with relief. �Arrigato-gozaimas, Naruto-niichan,� the young boy said wholeheartedly. A look of confusion reigned on Sakura�s
face, and then she turned around.
            It
was Tazuna-san, the man Team 7 had protected from the Gatou Corporation far
back, before the Chuunin exam. And
it was Inari and his mother.
            �Inari! Good to see you again! How are you? I told you I�d come back and visit you,� Naruto cheerfully
said.
            �Super
thanks, Naruto, Sakura,� Tazuna said, as he gently woke his daughter up. Helping her to her feet, he asked, �So,
what brings you back here?�
            Sakura
smiled. �We�re on a mission.�
            �Arrigato,
Naruto-kun, Sakura-san,� Inari�s mother said as she bowed before the two. �We would be honored to have you stay
in our home. It�s the least we can
do for you.�

            As
they walked across the very bridge that Naruto remembered fighting Haku on, he
was quite surprised to find out what the name of the bridge was. �The Great Naruto Bridge,� he repeated
for the tenth time.   �I like
the sound of it!�
            �Thanks
to you guys,� Tazuna said, �the country has made a super complete turn-around. Now Gatou Corporation can�t touch
us. And we built a few other
bridges, so Wave Country has become a super-great crossroads and trade center.�
            Sakura
could see the difference. No
longer were the produce stores virtually empty. Quite the contrary: the only problem seemed to be where to
put all the food. No longer were
there people wandering the streets, looking for scraps of food, or begging for
a few pennies for a meal. The
people did not appear downtrodden.
Now they were bright and upbeat.

            �Now�
let me prepare your rooms for you,� Tazuna said after dinner as he rose from
the table. His daughter and Inari
began removing the dishes from the table.
            �Oh,
no, Tazuna-san,� Sakura said, smiling.
�We really don�t mean to impose on you��
            Tazuna
shook his head. �No, no. I couldn�t let two super-important
people to us stay at the inn when they could stay here, instead! You guys are coming back this way,
right? If you are, drop on by
again. You�ll get a super
home-cooked meal and super comfy beds.�
            �Arrigato-gozaimas,
Tazuna-san,� Sakura said as she bowed.
�If you insist, we would be honored to stay here. But please, we only need one bedroom. We don�t mean to take over your house.�
            Tazuna
eyed Sakura and Naruto, thinking that he understood. He began to laugh, and Sakura blushed, as Naruto shook his
head. �No, no, no, Tazuna-san. It�s not what you think. Sakura-chan just doesn�t want you go
through the trouble of preparing two rooms, and I sleep better in my sleeping
bag than in my own bed, anyway.�

            Sakura
put down the map, folded it up, and left it on the table, along with a
heartfelt thank-you note. Taking
the copy she made of the map, she then opened the door to her room and quietly
snuck in. Trying not to disturb
Naruto, she changed and got ready for bed. As she settled down into bed, she noted that Naruto was
still awake. Naruto, sensing anger
directed towards him, whispered, �I looked away when you were changing. I�m not like Ero-Sennin is.� Sakura was glad that it was
pitch-black, so that Naruto couldn�t see that she was blushing. He continued, �you left them a
thank-you note, right? We gotta
leave early tomorrow.� With that
he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
            Naruto� Sakura thought. Sakura was glad that Naruto hadn�t peeked at her, but was
surprised to realize that she had felt a bit of a rush when she found out that
Naruto was awake. Confused at her
own reaction, she fell asleep.

*Ninja-to: Ninja�s version of a samurai�s katana. Usually straight instead of curved, for
better thrusts (Thrust to the heart: fastest, cleanest, and easiest way to kill)

*Tanto: Shinobi and Samurai shortsword. Can be straight (usually for ninja) or
curved (usually for samurai)

So? How do you
think the action scene went? This
was my first time really writing out an action scene. Please R&R!!

By the way, if you guys leave your e-mail addresses on your
reviews, I�ll be glad to send you an e-mail when I update.

AFF Reviews:
Thanks to all for your encouraging words!!

Smiter:
Actually, I have to admit that I hadn�t noticed that smile. I looked into it, and am working it in
to the next chapter.

Jon: I�m really glad that you think they�re in
character. Please do let me know
about any OoC-ness I may have put in!
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Sakura's Realization