The Girl They Never Saw [Completed]

Chapter 2 ~ Little Mice

     "I refuse to believe that there is a god. If they existed, they should have intervened a long time ago." -Sakura Haruno

      Sasuke and Naruto gasped for breath, the gates of Konoha only a few kilometers away. Their minds replayed the scene that had taken place over and over and over.

      "The Akatsuki appear to have retreated, for now." Kakashi informed the group, sharingan eye directed into the trees.

      Tsunade sighed, and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "Good. I need to-"

      She was cut off when Sakura stepped out of the bushes behind them. Sasuke could barely keep from openly gaping at her. She was taller than he remembered, and her hair had grown to reach the middle of her back. Her emerald eyes met his, but there was no trace of recognition in them.

      "What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked sharply, irritation clear in her voice. "I told you to stay back! You are not strong enough for this kind of mission!"

      Sakura's face darkened immediately. "I'm sorry, what was that? Did you just say I'm not strong enough?" She looked up, and her eyes were cold. "I came here to give you a second chance." She said, so quietly they had to strain to hear her. "For years, I've been looked down on. You thought I was useless, you all did." She looked around. "But I'm not useless. I'm not weak. I. Am. Not. Someone. To. Leave. Behind." She glared daggers at Sasuke in particular.

       Then she moved, faster than anyone would have thought possible. Even Sasuke and Kakashi's sharingan couldn't keep up with her, and Neji and Hinata's byakugan was of little use. Soon, they all lay dead, blood pouring out of their bodies. All except Naruto and Sasuke, who had not suffered so much as a single scratch.

      But not because they dodged. No one could dodge her attacks. No, it was because she had already chosen not to kill them. Sometimes living was a better punishment than death.

      Sasuke looked at his hands. He hadn't seen. He hadn't seen that she was strong. He hadn't seen that she was anything more than a fangirl. He mentally cursed himself. He was an Uchiha, the last of the clan. He was supposed to see everything. But not even his sharingan had seen her coming. No one had.