Fade to Black (Naruto fanfiction) - DISCONTINUED

Second Chance

"I see."

She pushed herself off the ground as her arms reached for Kabuto and wrapped them around his waist. She gently caressed his back.

"You must've been through so much, Kabuto."

Kabuto regained his composure. "No. Not at all, Hinotori-sama."

There was a moment of silence. It was a silence they knew too all well. The name from that time brought back memories. Painful, bittersweet memories.

"As you may already know, her name is Sakura Haruno. Anyways, I'm surprised you actually cried when you saw me." He mocked.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up as a menacing aura appeared.

"It's still a mystery to me as to how the man nicknamed 'Shinigami' has become someone like yourself." he insulted.

"I know, I know. I was just joking." Hinotori chuckled. "It's because you finally saw her again, isn't it? Wasn't the last time, two years ago? But that didn't really count. Also, if you were trying to insult me, you already know the answer to that." He smiled.

Yes. He knew it all too well. He witnessed it every time they saw each other.

Kabuto didn't utter a word. Even though he's inside of Sakura, they started as enemies and they will end as enemies. That was his resolution.

"So, what was with that disguise a couple of years ago?"

Kabuto hesitated for he was ashamed of what he had done.

"I learned of a man named Orochimaru, who became a missing nin from Konohagakure, during my travels. I thought I could use his name and appearance since he is feared by many. I'm sorry, that was selfish of me."

A slight grin appeared on Hinotori's face. That's just like him.

Hinotori sighed. "Stop it. You could say this is the future for us, but what we once lived by is gone. It's time to focus on the present, which is our future."

Kabuto's face showed regret. "But her whole family was killed in an instant."

Hinotori shook his head. "You couldn't have avoided that. As you said, she was already making her way towards the village and you suggested the henge. You didn't want Sakura to hate her even though she doesn't have her memories like we do. But we won't know what might happen once they meet." He continued. "And because of that, she feels a bit satisfied, no?"

"Well, yes. She wants sakura to suffer slowly and painfully."

"You understand the 'link' between the three of us, yes?"

Kabuto nodded his head.

"Has she sense you yet?" Hinotori asked curiously.

"No. Her attention isn't towards me so I'm like any other shinobi. But because of her strong desire to find Sakura, she's able to locate her."

Hinotori's lips tilted down, forming a frown.

"I have set up a barrier around our hideout so unless she goes beyond the barrier, she won't be able to find Sakura. I don't know how much longer she will stay within the barrier."

"Well, we should be lucky she hasn't tried anything. The part about watching her enemies suffer is to our advantage. " Hinotori reassured Kabuto.

"So how were you able to find her?"

Kabuto recalled the memories of when he met her.

~

The children of the orphanage rushed to Mother as the door opened. The chatters slowly faded when they saw a small girl about the same age as Kabuto, six years old, peeped out from behind Mother. She patted the little girl's head as she bent down to introduce the little girl to the other children.

"Everyone, let's welcome Nanashi. She is a new member of our family." She smiled.

Kabuto watched from the back as a shiver ran down his spine and rolled his hands into a fist.

It's her.

~

"So that's her alias now."

Kabuto wondered why Hinotori didn't have his body and became more of what was like a spirit inside Sakura.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you had a body of your own?" He asked aloud.

He shrugged. "If I did, I wouldn't have been able to watch over our princess." He continued. "I'm sure there's something else you want to ask, right?"

He couldn't hide it form Hinotori. Old habits do die hard.

"How's the boy?" Kabuto asked with saddened eyes.

Hinotori gestured towards the village.

The two of them appeared outside Sasuke's window. Kabuto saw the raven haired boy twisting and turning about in his bed and shot up immediately with a frightened expression. Guilt felt eyes watched the boy as he changed and walked out.

They followed him to the once Uchiha compound.

Sakura saw the guilt in Kabuto's eyes. "It was inevitable. Don't forget, we are only protecting one person. We can't protect everyone. There will be sacrifices that we can't prevent from happening."

Yes there will be sacrifices but he wish this was one sacrifice he could've avoided. But they are dealing with her. After that incident, she became merciless. How many years has it been?

It was peaceful while it lasted.

"She found out about Sakura's relationship with that boy and his family and wanted to destroy the happiness she regained. I was afraid of what she might do so I convinced her to let me do it instead."

"I saw from within." He embraced Kabuto as if he were a helpless child.

"Will we be able to meet up again?"

"When the time comes again. So, how long do you plan on stalling her plan. You're already doing the best you can to keep her at bay."

Kabuto frowned. "Hopefully until Sakura grows up." He pushed his glasses up with his index finger. "By then, she'll become strong enough to hold her ground against Nanashi."

~

Sakura woke up the next morning and got ready for the academy. As usual, she wore her red cherry blossom earrings and her pink cherry blossom necklace.

She went to her living room chair to grab her shirt but stopped when she noticed the tree barks on the shirt. Sakura stood there for a while pondering about it.

She didn't recall leaning against any trees yesterday.

~

We got a second chance, and we can't mess it up.