Shades of Grey

Chapter 6

Morning came sooner than Sakura would have liked she mused as she walked through the village on the way to the Hokage tower. Though she would never admit it a small part of her had wished that somehow the night could have lasted forever. She was drawn out of her musings by the mumblings of the villagers; rumors must travel faster than she had thought. Finally, she made it to the Hokage's office and was surprised to see her whole team present. She was more surprised when Tsunade did not speak, but Yamato stepped forward.

"I gathered these for you." He held out several scrolls. "Some of it is the research that you and I did together; others are jutsus that I think may come in handy for you."

"Thank you." Sakura smiled tenderly at him and tucked them into her pack.

"Ugly, this is for you." Sai stepped to her and offered her one of his genuine smiles. "Just write on it and infuse it with your chakra, a tiger seal will cause your message to turn into a creation like mine. It will reach whoever it is that you wish it to."

Sakura was trying to keep her emotions in check as she took the precious gift with a shaking hand. When Kakashi stepped forward rubbing the back of his head she was afraid that she might break.

"This is in case you ever get bored and decide to read something better than those boring medical scrolls." He held out the little orange book that she had seen in his hands a million times before. The wear on it was all that it took to see that it was his; the book they had yelled at him about for years.

That was it the tears started to flow. She shook as she was pulled into his warm embrace and felt him take in a shaky breath of his own.

"Never forget that we all love you; you are our heart." He whispered into her ear.

Sakura knew that the tears would not stop now. It was alright she assured herself. These were her last moments of safety of refuge among those who loved her. The world that she would go into was not one that would allow her any moments of weakness. It was then that Tsunade stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Here." The woman said with tears in her own eyes as she held out an envelope. "It is a couple of months' worth of my gambling money. It should hold you over for a while."

"It is too much." Sakura waved her hands in front of her. She knew it would be an extremely large amount of money. That combined with what she had already saved would allow her to live comfortably for at least a year.

"Nonsense." Tsunade let her tears begin to fall. "It is my right to do with it as I see fit. What I want to do is give it to my daughter."

With the envelope smashed into her student's hand she hurried to her desk and downed a glass of sake. Naruto took her place, but there were not tears in his brilliant blue eyes, there was a raging storm.

"Why did you do it Sakura-chan?" He ground out through clenched teeth fists shaking at his sides.

"Because you have always saved me Naruto." She declared in a broken whisper as she pulled him into an embrace. "It was my turn to save you. Besides, you have to stay around here to become Hokage, oust the elders, and let me come back. The Leaf needs you Naruto."

"But I need you." He sounded broken and lost. He took the necklace from around his neck which he had always so proudly worn. "This isn't just my most valuable possession, but my most precious. Please keep it safe and close to your heart. You have to bring it back to me one day."

Sakura was at a complete loss for words as Sasuke came to take Naruto's place.

"This was my mother's." He held out the most elegant looking katana she had ever seen. "Father had it made for her because he wanted her to have a superior blade." Sakura was in awe as she saw the Uchiha crest on its hilt.

"This was your mother's." Sakura protested. "I cannot take it with me. What if something were to happen to it?"

"That is why I am going to come with you, to ensure that nothing happens to such a precious thing." The Uchiha's words seemed to speak of the sword that he had just given his teammate, but his eyes were locked to hers conveying a deeper meaning to his words.

"No." Sakura declared surprising everyone in the room. "The Leaf needs you; Naruto needs you to help him reach his goal. I stood by him all of the years that you were away; it is your turn to do so now."

"Damn it Sakura!" He yelled; his sharingan flaring to life as his fist pounded down on Tsunade's desk. "Are you going to make me spell it out for you here in front of everyone? I will not allow you to carry this burden alone."

"I think that now Sasuke I understand you better than ever before." She let her fingers cup his cheek. Some things we must do on our own; not because we do not want others with us, but because we love them too much to endanger them for our sake. But Sasuke thank you all the same. I will carry your words close to my heart always." With that she allowed a small amount of her medical chakra to course through her fingers, just enough to ensure that he would not awaken until she was beyond his reach. She caught him before he could hit the ground and was surprised to hear Naruto burst into laughter.

"Ironic isn't it." He still laughed as he took their teammate from her. "This is exactly what happened when he left all those years ago. Serves that bastard right."

"As your Hokage," Tsunade spoke up with authority in her voice. "I order you to stay alive by any means necessary. You are under orders not to die by enemy hands, or your own."

"Yes Hokage-sama." Sakura bowed her head as she watched the meaning of the orders sink in and her teammates' eyes widened. Before any of them could utter a word, she was gone leaving only a few floating petals where the girl who held their name once stood. All of them uttered a silent prayer that their blossom would return to Konoha safe and soon.

Meanwhile a woman with brilliant pink hair and sad jade eyes looked back at the village that had always been her home.

"I hope that I am able to follow your orders Tsunade." Her voice cracked, but she knew she would do whatever she must to protect her precious people.

"No little one; you have done well, but your true test begins now. You will not break." A voice assured the girl from a cage within her as she began running through the trees that Leaf was so famous for, unsure if she would ever set foot in them again.