Help me breath again
By RockLauraLoko
chapter one.
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto (if they were mine, Itachi would be walking around without a shirt through all the anime) however, the plot of this fic and the new characters belongs to me
Summary: "What's love like?" he asked her. Seeing the pain and hope in his eyes she felt her heart clench. She knew just how much he had suffered because of the people that were supposed to love him. "Love is the air we breathe" she answered
A/N: Sorry all, this has been updated and changed, I was no longer satisfied with my work, as such I decided to start over while maintaining the story line.
If you liked it, please review and/or Follow/Favorite it I will read every review and answer if you have any questions
03/01/2018
"You realize that our mistrust of the future makes it hard to give up the past."
― Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor
She often wonders how many times she had held someone as they gave their first breath in comparison to how many times she held someone giving their last. She wonders even more often how many of them were people she had loved, people she had lost, and it burns her
Burns with a cold and cruel intensity, so different from the type of feeling she used to project in her youth, the one that drove her forward even with so many hardships and the one that gave birth to the pride she so many times saw projected in her grandfather's eyes and comrades. On Nawaki's. On Dan's.
She wonders if it was her giving up her Will of Fire or her Will of Fire giving up on her, unable to sustain the broken form her Yin Seal hid
Her beloved Konoha, once again living near a break of a war, this time between Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha and the five shinobi nations who formed a union beneath the threat of the powerful trio. How ridiculous is it that the only way for a small measurement of peace to be achieved is with forewarning of war after all?
Even so…let it not be said that caged birds do not long to feel the wind on their wings once more, and oh, how she longed for warm skies again
Tsunade looked at the paper in her hands with a frown, she knew how dangerous her decision would be, not only for her and all hidden villages but also for the person she was just about to assign this mission to. Kami-sama knew that if she had another choice she wouldn't be doing this
"Shiiiiizuuuuuneeeee!"
"H-h-hai Tsunade-sama!" said Shizune while trying to catch her breath from running all the way back from down the hall. She sighed, just when she was about to take a break too. Had her mentor already found out about the hidden sake? Shizune was still amazed on how Tsunade managed to be such a wonderful Kage even in such …. circumstances
"I want you to tell an Anbu to track Sakura Haruno and tell her to meet me here immediately!"
"May I ask why Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune wondering why she would call Sakura back here when the poor girl had worked herself to exhaustion the day before, healing everyone that required it even after finishing two full shifts and half another. Privately she wasn't sure how much of the girl's dedication was due to her position as head medic and how much was driven from the desire to forget her own injurious, the ones no medic, no matter how extraordinary, could fix
The horrors of war left no one untouched
Tsunade sighed, Shizune would probably argue with her about this choice but no one would be able to deny that this was the last choice they had to save the shinobi world from hell "I'm about to give her the mission that is going to save us all" she said while handing Shizune the scroll she had just been reading
The other woman held the scroll reading it carefully while her eyes widened with each sentence read "Tsunade-sama! You can't be serious!"
"I wish I was kidding Shizune...I really do..."
Seeing the sadness in the older woman's eyes she immediately shut up. She knew how many important people had her lady lost and how each one of them took with them a piece of her heart that no matter how much had Shizune tried, there was no way to replace.
Sakura had become one of those important people to the Hokage, working for so many years side to side, teaching her everything she knew about life as a ninja out in the field and in the hospital, giving her the knowledge and tools to make the young kunoichi one of the best that konoha had seen, and while doing such, she passed into the blossom some of her traits and started to see her as her own daughter.
Assigning Sakura such a mission knowing all the possible bad endings it could lead to, was probably like having a knife pierce her heart while forcing herself to remain looking calm and rule over the village that needed her so much in this moment of crisis.
"I will have her called right now Tsunade-sama, excuse me" she said while she got up and left the room towards the anbu headquarters
As soon as she left the room Tsunade allowed herself to fall back in her chair and let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, she hoped she could do this
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Sakura woke up with the biggest head ache of the planet. She really shouldn't have exhausted her chakra like that in the hospital, but she couldn't turn her back on her co-workers when they were short staffed and 2 anbu teams had just checked in with major injuries after being attacked near the border even if she was only standing up thanks to the 2 soldier pills she had taken 1 hour before the incident. She got up from her bed pulling the covers off of herself and proceeded to walk to her window and pull the curtains away
Once, in what seemed such a distant time, she would have said the world outside was amazing, the sun was high in the sky and she could see the shops open with many people buying their groceries, children by the hand
However, now there was something completely different going on. When she looked at those streets she could only picture the blood that would be staining them when the war erupted and how many of the people she was seeing today would be dead in the near future
She had trained so hard underneath lady Tsunade to be able to stop standing behind her team and start standing beside them, fighting with them, being a useful comrade and precious friend. She trained so hard that now at the age of 17 she had surpassed her mentor going against many people expectations, including her own
And it wasn't enough
She had grown as a shinobi and as a woman. Her pink hair was now reaching mid back, body displaying her obvious training as a kunoichi, but, unlike many others, she had the advantage of being a medic nin which allowed her to heal her injuries as fast as possible and keep many scars from forming.
But that changed nothing
Her eyes, once said to "reflect her heart and soul", for all the truth that such statement might have once held, lost much of their brightness the same day that the one who said that to her lost all on his
She couldn't even save Kakashi
She was now an anbu (having taken the exams 6 months ago) and so were the other members of konoha eleven (although Shikamaru and Neji were the first to achieve such position and were now anbu captains)
She hoped she could see Konoha and the other nations surviving this war and see Naruto rising to the position of Hokage and if she couldn't...
She shall die trying, but by the gods… let him conquer, let him guide all to happiness
She was in such deep thoughts when she heard the telltale of a teleporting technique. After the smoke dissipated she could see an anbu she knew was Neji the minute he spoke
"Haruno-san, you are required on the Hokage tower immediately"
Sakura nodded and immediately turned to her closet. Her clothes consisted in her headband that she proudly displayed in her head, a black kimono style top with a cherries blossom pattern on the side coming up to her breast, black shorts, her medical pouch and her usual black boots that reached a little bellow her knees
In overall, her attire hugged her figure showing her curves but never displaying too much skin, was comfortable and gave her enough space to move in a fight.
She ran as fast as she could through the rooftops, she knew it wasn't wise to make Tsunade wait so early in the morning especially after Shizune hid all her sake the previous day. Arriving at the Hokage Tower she greeted a few people she knew from the hospital and missions. She headed to the Hokage's office and knocked
"Get in Sakura we don't have all day!" Sakura sighed. Tsunade was in a bad mood, how perfect for her head ache...
"You called me Tsunade-shishou?" She asked as she closed the door behind her. She noticed Shizune was beside the Hokage with a very serious look in her face and... was that fear she saw in her eyes?
"Sit down Sakura I have a mission for you" She did as she was told and looked at the older woman waiting for farther information
"Haruno Sakura I am about to assign you an S-rank mission which implies your departure from Konoha for an indeterminate space of time and high risks that could lead not only to your death but also for Konoha's hope in surviving being lost, if you accept this mission you will depart alone as soon as possible"
Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. Why was Tsunade giving her such an important mission when she would surely be of more use on the hospital or beside Naruto on the upcoming final battle?
She could die on this mission, put other people's life in danger and her village in hell if she failed. She didn't even know what this mission was all about but if the way her heart was beating and how her instinct told her to get the hell out of there were anything to go by, this meant business. And yet...if she succeeded she could stop this war, stop the bloodshed that seemed to taint everything this days, she could help her loved ones...
But...there was still something in the back of her mind asking: could she do it? Tsunade believed in her if she was giving her this mission, and that was enough. When no one believed her, Tsunade did, she made her see she could became on hell of a kunoichi and blow everyone expectations. She did it then and she would do it now there was no turning back
"I accept the mission" Tsunade's eyes brightened with those words, she could see the fire burning in her pupil's eyes and she knew that there was no one better for this job. As long as the will of fire burned in her heart there was nothing Tsunade could worry about, even if she herself no longer could take pride in the same
"Very well...Haruno Sakura you will meet me and Shizune on the gates in 1 hour where you will be sent 9 years into the past. You will be given a scroll to give to the third Hokage. Your mission is to stop the Uchiha massacre at all costs. Do you understand?"
Sakura's eyes almost jumped of off her face and rolled in the ground while hearing this. Time travel? ITACHI FREAKING UCHIHA? "T-Tsunade-shishou! What is that jutsu all about? How is it even possible?"
Tsunade sighed "A long time ago there was a clan specialized in time related jutsu, they existed before the villages were even formed, but they were a threat to all the other clans and time itself...They were known as the Moto clan. They were so powerful that many clans joined forces in other to kill every single member of that clan and burn all the scrolls with information about their jutsus and declared them forbidden.
However, there was a scroll that survived this and ended up with the second Hokage that hid it and was to never be found, until recently."
"Are there side effects of using such jutsu?" Sakura asked while absorbing the information
"You might get a little dizzy, but it will wear off eventually."
"How will I be able to approach the Uchiha clan? As far as I know they were very reserved"
"Don't worry. I trust The Third to help you after reading my message. As for the rest...it will be your mission to figure out and accomplish"
Sakura still had her doubts but nodded anyway "Understood Tsunade-shishou"
"You may leave to pack. Be on the gates in 1 hour with everything you will need. Dismissed!"
Sakura started heading home, the more she thought the more she realized something...
She was going to meet Itachi Uchiha and somehow stop him for murdering all his family...Oh Fuck
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As it turns out, packing for a surprise trip to the past wasn't as easy as one would initially think. The problems didn't lay with the amount of clothes, or poisons, or medical necessities, hell even grabbing all her money and sealing it away was casual. Any long-term mission required such measurements after all
No…the issue was with what she truly wanted to take since she would never find it where she was going, and the impact it would have shall if fall on wrong hands
Pictures lay scattered on her bed, everything that truly mattered to her captured and turned to constant reminders to keep going. Her chest tightened, even if she got to see everyone, making sure they had an even better life this time, the memories before her eyes would never happen again, to them she would be a stranger, no more than a passing figure
She wouldn't even be able to say goodbye, no one could know where she was about to go and for all his carefree attitude, Naruto would immediately realize something was wrong and bug her to tell him what it was.
For the lonely boy that amid pain and judgment still gave the world all his warmth, she would bring affection and the family he yearned for
She truly admired his spirit. The way he could see light on the most wretched of situations was what made him so unique, so strong. Someone that had more than enough reasons to want to see this village burn to the ground, prove it the monster he was told he was all his life, and yet, spent his days making sure it kept on prospering
She had no doubt he would rise and make one hell of a Hokage and there would be no one able to stop his ascension, no ignorant civilians, no selfish elders, no Sasuke…
To the lost child: no way ward brother, no empty streets and bloody walls. She shall return his home, allow him to grow with a mother's embrace to keep the pain away, may the siblings never be parted, may he never know the despair of such betrayal again
Sasuke…the one she had loved for so long, the one she saw as a brother despite the feeble bonds connecting them, her now enemy. All of his happiness had been stolen away from him, and he in turn hungered for retribution to the place where all of his suffering began.
Leaving now meant fighting for a better future for him, for all of them. In the end she decided to take only a picture from old Team 7, the only refuge she would allow herself when reality finally hit her.
Preparations done she looked around one last time. Behind she would leave her life as she knew it, no more illusions of miracles, everything that came from now one she would have to build alone, it was all or nothing, shall she fail no one else will be there to pick up the remains. But this was for a greater good. With a sigh she closed the door and started walking through the busy streets
Itachi Uchiha, how would he be like? Would he be like any other 13 year boy? Of course not...this was Itachi FREAKING Uchiha we are talking about here, there is nothing normal about him! Still, he was still a child when it all happened. One that truly loved his younger brother and clan if the tales were anything to go by
And yet her instinct told her that there was so much more behind all of this. Kakashi and Tsunade always told her to never ignore her instinct because sometimes it could be the difference between life and death
She ought to earn his trust and find his motives, and if she couldn't...could she kill him? She guessed that she would find out when the moment came
Looking ahead she saw she was a few steps away of the gates and Shizune was already waiting for her. The kind smile that had so many times calmed her troubled spirit, now served only to deepen the acute pain radiating from her chest. Such tenderness would never be directed to her again from her sister figure
"Sakura-chan, come, Tsunade-sama is waiting for us at the clearing where the procedure shall happen"
Both apprentices walked in silence for a long time, both absorbed on their own agonizing thoughts, until they finally reached their destination where they could see Tsunade and 5 anbus beside a network of runes on a round circle occupying most of the terrain.
At her shishou's signal Sakura made to move forward when she suddenly felt arms around her, the Lavender perfume surrounding her immediately made her spill the tears she had been trying to contain since leaving her house
"Sakura, you are loved, my sister. I want you to know that meeting you was one of the best things to ever happen to me. To have someone to share the burdens, lessons and happiness that our position besides the woman we look up to and think of as a mother is something I cherish deeply.
Where before were only two lost wondering souls, there are now three accomplished medics who despite all the flaws and past scars, managed to keep going and make this village thrive again. I believe in you. Thank you, Sakura, for being my family"
Shizune cried softly on her shoulder, and on that instance, Sakura could only embrace the older woman and whisper a broken thank you back, like it was the last time they would ever see each other. For all they knew, it probably was
If any anbu noticed the tears their own Hokage shed for them, none said a word, not that they would have been able to swallow past their own aching throats as they witnessed the scene
Finally parting ways, Sakura went to her mentor, not even having time to hesitate to share a proper goodbye before she was once again in a bone crushing embrace.
"If there is anyone that can accomplish this, that person is you, never forget that. Konoha counts with you. You have made me so proud Sakura, but you must understand that this mission won't be easy. Even with the scroll you will give to the Sandaime there is not much we Hokage can do to intervene in clan business.
Next time we see each other remind me we are due a training session. Show those Uchihas what my daughter is capable of " Tsunade whispered, releasing her
"But how will that work? How will you know who I am or anything about this mission?" Sakura inquired
"Don't worry Sakura, when the time comes I will know who you are, never doubt that" her mentor promised with a conviction that left no place for doubt
"How much time do I have?"
"I'm afraid it will be truly up to you. Itachi will be already at the age where he would murder his clan, so the time limit expected would be around a year. However, the Unmei no Sentaku is said to last until your goal is fulfilled, whether you finish earlier than expected or end up delaying it until you manage to vanish any threats to your mission is to be seen, either way you will be transported back the same time to this same location when it's all done"
Fateful Decision indeed, no wonder they were all eradicated, something so powerful on the hands of someone like Madara Uchiha wouldn't only be dangerous, it would be apocalyptic
"Sakura, take position and get ready, give this to the Sandaime" Tsunade ordered while handling her a scroll. "When you reach the exact center, you will rise a chakra barrier around you and not move an inch."
"Hai, shishou" she was already on place when she heard her name again
"Sakura, you are not, in any circumstances, allowed to die. Do you understand?" Already she could see the open scroll in front of her master shining a bright yellow, the runes around her vibrating with energy and somewhere behind her Shizune's chakra flaring up strong and steady. She could feel her heart beating wildly and her mind screaming obscenities for accepting this when surely, surely Naruto would have it all done and wrapped up in two weeks at most
"Do you understand Sakura?!"
No use for doubts now, there would be no back up, she knew this when she accepted. Time to live up to the trust put in her. "I understand, Tsunade-sama. See you soon!"
It would be a long time until the Slug Princess saw such a blinding smile again, and only then would she truly realize how much she had missed it
"Shizune now!" The giant explosion that followed left her feeling like her body had been kicked to Suna and back, and then...only silence and darkness as she passed out
Tell me, have you enjoyed the new changes, or did you prefer the old chapters? Forgive me if you truly liked the old ones better, but somehow it didn't feel enough for me and reading it made me cringe, hard. Please share your opinions!
