Until Then

Part 8 ~ Encounters

"Fair ain't what you really need
Oh, can you see what I see?"

•••

As far as Sasuke knew, the war was over. Things started picking up, but nothing could ever really go back to the way it was before.

Even if a broken cup was glued back together, you could still see the cracks. And this was just like the lone Uchiha who was eleven months into his journey of self-discovery, renewed with a light but still carrying baggage and scars from his past that would forever follow him.

Looking up at the sky with it's fast moving clouds, he wondered where his journey would take him today.

••••••••••

Back in Konoha, the days seemed to roll by faster than ever, like a reminder that while they weren't still growing up, they were indeed growing older with time.

Sakura spent alot of time with her friends but still she always felt as though she was intruding their personal space.

"Thanks again for helping us." Hinata informed once more with a warm smile as she reached out and gently squeezed her friend on the arm.

That was when Naruto came in, huffing as he lugged around a new armchair into the empty living room.

Moving in to a new apartment together was tiresome for the newly weds as they had just come back from their honeymoon.

"Where do you want this?" He asked his wife, who was as equally tired.

Sakura took it as her cue to leave. Today was her day off and she spent it the helping the couple get settled into their new home.

After saying a quick goodbye, she stopped to get a few supplies for her mission tomorrow.

Hoshigakure, in the Land of Bears wasn't a popular village but Sakura seemed to know her way around so she accepted the job to deliver a medicinal antidote that she had put together, to a retired former ninja of the Hidden Leaf who moved there.

••••••

Fastening the strap of her backpack, the kunoichi made her way out of the gates of the village. The sun hadn't began to rise yet and almost all the people were still asleep in their homes.

'It was better to get an early start and come back sooner', she thought as she leaped through tall green trees that shone with traces of morning dew.

The atmosphere was calming and it felt good to be out by herself again, away from the bustle of the everyday life.

Four hours of travelling in, she noticed that the vast array of vegetation was subsiding as she got closer to Hoshigakure. She had done research about the village prior to leaving, but there was not much information available. It was both intriguing aswell as confusing.

'Was this it?' She thought curiously, scanning the area.

There seemed to be just baren land with a concrete jungle of houses dispersed around. From the top of a tree branch where she stood, looking towards the north end she could see an outline of what appeared to be a lake in the distance.

Making her way down and straight towards the village center, there wasn't alot of people around. It was around lunch time, so surely there had to be more people right?