Aftermath (A Sequel to A Flash to the Future)

Chapter 17 - Prelude to the Preliminaries

Sasuke gasped as his eyes suddenly snapped open. "SAKURA!" he yelled as he quickly sat up with his sharingan activated. He paused when he looked around and saw that he was in a room.

"S-sasuke?!" Sakura groaned as she slowly began to wake up. "SASUKE!" she exclaimed as she jumped out of the bed.

She looked around frantically before her eyes landed on the object of her affections. The Uchiha just stared at her with unreadable expression before he slowly looked away from her. Confusion and uncertainty marred his expression as he looked around the room. Sakura seemed to have calmed down as well and took in her surroundings.

"We're at the tower." Sakura said with a slight frown. "How? And why can't I remember anything?"

"I can't either." Sasuke spoke. "The last thing I remember was him. And from the looks of it, Naruto has been here." he said, staring at the used instant ramen container sitting on the table.

Sakura's frown seemed to deepen. "How? He was unconscious after Orochimaru tried to kill him." she said.

Sasuke silently got out of the bed and went to slide on his sandals. As he headed towards the door, Sakura called out to him. Sasuke stopped and spared her a glance.

"What?" he asked rudely.

She looked down a little shyly. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To go get answers." Sasuke said before leaving the room.

He was slightly surprised when she didn't follow him. He did his usually Uchiha 'hn' and thought it was for the better. He didn't need anyone hovering over him. It was suffocating and annoying.

Sakura sighed as the door shut behind him. She didn't understand. What was it going to take for him to see her? For him to pay attention to her? They had both saw their future together and they looked happy. After seeing this, you would think it would bring two people closer together, but instead, it seemed to only pull them further apart. He barely spared her a glance and would sometimes act like she didn't exist. Sure, he had his moments when he would compliment her, but it wasn't as heartfelt or honest like she desired. He treated her no different than he did before.

Sakura flicked the lights on in the bathroom and turned on the sink. She dipped her hands over the cool water before splashing her face. She cut the water off as she dried her face and hands with paper towel. She stood in the mirror and stared at her reflection, taking in her large forehead and skinny form. Her parents had always told her that she was pretty with her beautiful emerald eyes and bubble-gum pink hair. Her skin was flawless and fair, and she stuck to a very strict diet to maintain a nice form. She was smart and had a sharp memory. She was all the things most guys looked for in a girl, yet she couldn't capture the attention of the one guy she wanted.

For some reason, her mind went back to their encounter with Orochimaru. She had never been so frightened in her life. He had made her vision her death and was able to soundly beat Sasuke. Hell, he even defeated Naruto and that was only in a few minutes. She sighed as she thought about how she only stood on the sidelines as her teammates fought to the death. Perhaps Naruto was right. Maybe she was pathetic.

She laughed mirthlessly at that. Her she was admitting that the idiot was right. She would never understand him. After that day, the blond seemed more distant, even though he still kept his annoying tendencies. He vaguely spoke to her and Sasuke outside of practice and he was always nonchalant about everything. Not even Kakashi-sensei could do anything about the change in dynamic.

She tiredly sighed as she looked in the mirror again, more specifically the bright pink hair that had given her her name. The strands of pink that surrounded her heart shaped face. Was she really a kunoichi? She remembered how she took kunoichi classes in the Academy and how they taught them different things like flower assortment and hygiene care when on missions. But was being pretty and appealing all a kunoichi was? She remembered how she had read about Tsunade Senju and how she is ranked as one of the strongest kunoichi's in the shinobi world, being able to destroy mountains in one punch. Even that girl Ten-Ten from Team 9 was able hold her own, being taught by one of the weirdest and hyperactive jonins in the village. And although he hated to admit it, even Ino was stronger than her, even if it wasn't by much.