When A Petal Falls

I'm sick of this Brave New World

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Sakura Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Silence hung heavy, the weight of importance hushing the three as they walked. Soon that heavy door would shut behind them sealing them from any outside interference, 'what could hold such urgency'. The nature of Lady Tsunade's expression as she walked ahead of her seemed to radiate a warning. Sakura envisioned white paper crumpled from over handling, breaching the corners of a meek brown office folder, skewed across her rose wood table, and likely awaiting them for further analysis.

There at the end of the hallway the Hokage office awaited, the windows spilling in the sunlight growing narrower, the walls seemingly inching close, the shadows climbing. This part of the building was always vacant, 'well almost completely' aside the unsettling and unseen presence of two leaf Anbu standing sharp, backs against the wall either side of the Hokage's office. 'I've never got used to that, that chakra.' The empty vessel feeling of a Leaf Anbu was something unlike anything else, neither cold nor warm – 'like a muted sound just out of hearing' and she couldn't help but wonder again how both Yamato and Kakashi had survived such heinous treatment. From years ago, when she was very young, her first years as Tsunade's student in fact, Sakura had been put through the paces of the different needs required to evaluate and place her patients dependant on their role within the Leaf. Alongside the body the mind was just as key as any organ, a sickening chill catching in her throat when learning of the Anbu. But morbidly she found something simply beautiful within the act of emptying the mind and opening the body to the instruction of higher order. No pain, no emotional turmoil only an empty carrier of instruction. 'Prison or sanctuary, no matter there is a peace in silence, isn't there? Could I ever experience such a thing, would that training silence me, all those cries I hear when I try to sleep? All those voices screaming, but no louder than my own twisting everything and every word. Could I do what they do, could I leave it behind? All of it, all of that idiocy, all of the stupid mistakes?' Her body guided her the rest of the way as her mind swam of the desires for vacancy of soul.

Tsunade opened the door swiftly with a brisk nod to the shadowy presence on passing. Sakura made her way through the doors frame quickly, barely holding the door away for Kakashi to step through. Not wanting to give herself time to equate the coming serious discussion with awareness to the world around. Senses bubbling in trepidation, monitoring sound she heard her sensei's hand gently tap the wood of the door to keep it open as he followed in her steps. A moment of progress to the desk and the sound of the door clicking shut behind her, Sakura took in a deep breath and focused in on Tsunade taking her place in the chair. There would be no mentor, no friendship, only the Leaf's Hokage from this moment on, she could see it in the hard and detached setting within Tsunade's expression. Holding herself uniformly straight she felt the light brush of Kakashi's hand against her own, but it was so discreet and brief she remained unsure if she actually felt it and questioned it's meaning quickly, though ultimately to only dismiss it as an accident. 'This is not the time Sakura' she angrily declared on the fleeting feeling of anxiety in her stomach, erasing it.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Kakashi Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

"I know I've just called you in here Sakura and I do apologies for the curtness but I need to have a talk with Kakashi on his own then we can proceed." Sakura seemed taken aback but gave an affirmative nod before vacating the office to give them privacy.

Once the door had clicked back in to its frame Tsunade's serious eyes met his own, "Kakashi. I received a letter from Chiyo addressed to Garra. He sent it through last night." Pushing the envelope forward on the desk in motion for Kakashi to read it Tsunade let out a heavy sigh.